The Israeli military stands at the forefront globally in defense manufacturing and the development of defense systems, especially in radar systems, self-defense systems, jamming, drones, and missiles. These systems have gained significant popularity worldwide, with customers receiving field evidence showcasing the quality of these products. According to the “Times Of Israel” newspaper on June 14, 2023, Israeli arms sales reached $12.5 billion in 2022. The majority of these sales, 35%, were attributed to defense systems, cybersecurity, and electronic warfare, indicating high trust in these products. However, despite this trust, all these systems collapsed on October 7, 2023. This raises the question: what is Israel’s defense system?
1. Early Warning and Operational Radars:
Israeli air defense is part of the Air Force, relying on a mix of American and locally manufactured Israeli radars, including:
EL/M-2040: An Israeli radar produced by “IAI,” this over-the-horizon radar has a range of thousands of kilometers by utilizing radar waves sent to the ionosphere and receiving reflections from air, land, and sea targets. It operates at high frequencies between 3-30 GHz.
AN/TPY-2: An American radar from “Raytheon” with a detection range of 870-3000 km, designed primarily to detect and track ballistic missiles and guide fire to THAAD missile defense batteries.
EL/M-2090: An Israeli early warning radar produced by “IAI” with a range of 500 km, also designed to detect and track ballistic missiles.
EL/M-2080: An Israeli radar from “IAI” with a 500 km range, designed for tracking ballistic missiles and guiding fire to Arrow missile defense batteries.
EL/M-2084: An Israeli radar from “IAI” with a 470 km range, designed to detect and track all aircraft and land/land missiles, and to guide fire to David Sling missile defense batteries.
ELM-2248: An Israeli radar from “IAI” with a range of 324 km, designed to detect ballistic missiles and aerial targets at low and high altitudes up to 30 km, and to guide fire to air defense missiles on Sa’ar-class naval vessels.
AN/MPQ-53: An American radar from a collaboration between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, with a 100 km range, designed to detect aircraft and land/land missiles at high and medium altitudes, and to guide fire to PAC-2 Patriot missile defense batteries.
These radars are complemented by early warning air systems such as:
Nachshon Oran: An Israeli early warning aircraft from “IAI,” featuring the EL/M-2085 radar, based on a modified Gulfstream G550. It integrates radar capabilities from “Eitam” aircraft and intelligence features from current-generation “Shavit” aircraft, providing a comprehensive aerial picture of various targets.
HAAS (High Availability Aerostat System): Israeli-made aerostats from “IAI,” equipped with surveillance cameras and early warning radars, including the ELM-2083 in its latest 2023 versions.
These radars work in conjunction with Israeli “Ofek” satellites, particularly the newest “Ofek-13” launched in March 2023, which is used for ground survey missions, early warning, and target tracking.
Border Surveillance Systems: Radar and electro-optical systems from “Elbit,” supported by drones from “IAI” (Eitan and Searcher) and “Elbit” (Hermes).
2. Air Defense Systems, Fighters, and Command & Control:
Defense systems dealing with medium and long-range targets include:
Arrow: An Israeli-American joint project between IAI and Boeing. Max altitude: 50 km / Max range: 150 km.
Patriot PAC-2: American-made by Raytheon. Max altitude: 40 km / Max range: 96 km.
Barak: An Israeli project from IAI and Rafael. Max altitude: 20 km / Max range: 100 km.
David Sling: An Israeli-American joint project between Rafael and Raytheon. Max altitude: 15 km / Max range: 250 km.
Tamir (Iron Dome): An Israeli project from IAI and Rafael. Max altitude: 10 km / Max range: 70 km.
Short-range defense systems include:
Spyder: An Israeli missile system from Rafael with a range of 15 km.
Iron Beam: An Israeli laser system from Rafael with a range of 10 km.
Machbet: An Israeli development of the M163 from General Dynamics with a range of 2.5 km.
Sky Capture: Ground-based radar-guided machine guns from Rafael with a range of 3 km.
These systems are supported by the Drone Dome from Rafael, designed to detect and intercept drones through electronic jamming or hard-kill methods like machine guns or lasers.
The Israeli Air Force contributes to air defense with:
F-16: American-made by Lockheed Martin, locally developed by Rafael, IAI, and Elbit as “Barak.” It is the lightest fighter in the Israeli Air Force, with substantial radar and weapon capabilities.
F-15: American-made by McDonnell Douglas, locally developed by Rafael, IAI, and Elbit as “Baz-AUP.” A lighter version of the F-15 with powerful engines, long-range radar, and significant missile capacity.
F-35: American-made by Lockheed Martin, considered the best in the Israeli Air Force due to its advanced radar, revolutionary mission computers, and stealth design, although it carries limited armament.
Apache AH-64D: A combat helicopter, typically used to intercept drones.
All these primary radar and combat systems, along with other subsystems, create a comprehensive air picture to detect all aerial, terrestrial, and maritime targets. This information is processed in command and control platforms known as “C2/C4” within operations rooms, following this sequence:
ELS-8994 RICent: A locally made platform by IAI for analyzing all information from radar, ground, and electro-optical detection systems.
ELS-8994 StarLight: A main operational management platform by IAI, processing final analyses from the previous platform using artificial intelligence to provide rapid operational solutions and distribute tasks.
Moshav & ELI-4000: Secondary locally made platforms from IAI that receive orders from the previous systems to assist in planning and managing air operations and controlling air formations.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Israeli Defense Network
The Israeli military has relied on a seemingly integrated defense network built over the years, based on various threats and the latest technologies, supported by command and control systems powered by AI. AI is continuously fed with information and trained on new tactics through:
Previous Combat Missions: Limited in scope, such as intercepting aerial incursions from Syria and Lebanon by fighter aircraft or bombers, and dealing with drone incursions from Lebanon and Syria, particularly reconnaissance drones. Additionally, defending against various land/land missiles launched from Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza.
Internal and Multinational Exercises: These are crucial for training Israeli leaders and systems to understand different threats and respond effectively. Internal exercises typically involve a single defensive scenario, such as simultaneous attacks by land/land missiles and enemy aircraft, followed by defensive and offensive missions. Multinational exercises, especially the large Blue Flag, involve various foreign air forces, integrating Eastern and Western tactics in offensive and defensive scenarios.
All these experiences contribute to the Israeli command and control system, managed by AI capable of analyzing the performance of any incoming aircraft, missiles, or drones, providing optimal tactical solutions and selecting the best systems for interception. This leaves the decision-making to operational room leaders, who issue commands swiftly to ground, sea operators, or pilots for precise execution.
Weaknesses
Over-Reliance on AI: AI, while powerful, can become paralyzed by new tactics it hasn’t encountered before. Disrupting AI systems through deceptive maneuvers, electronic jamming, and multi-directional attacks can be effective.
Operational Flexibility: The reliance on AI can negatively impact Israeli commanders’ ability to improvise and make quick field decisions when technology is unavailable. This was evident in the confusion and delayed response to the Hamas attack on October 7, which affected the performance of Israeli operators and pilots.
Speed Limitations: While Israeli defense systems are designed to intercept various targets at medium and high speeds, they may struggle against very slow targets and multi-directional missile saturation attacks.
In conclusion, throughout military history, no system or plan is perfect or complete. There are always weaknesses and failure rates, even with the most advanced technologies. As Sun Tzu mentioned in “The Art of War,” “The key to victory lies in confusing the enemy.” Thus, studying the enemy’s capabilities, including their command and control systems, is crucial. Neutralizing these systems with innovative tactics, even if not costly, often hinges on ensuring they have not been used before. This was evident in the “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” where the surprise attack overwhelmed the Israeli military despite billions spent on a sophisticated layered defense network, which ultimately failed against relatively simple and inexpensive tactics.
