The threat from Hezbollah's drones has aroused concern in Israel and represents a considerable challenge for the IDF in protecting its ground forces and settlements on the northern border. In addition to the Iron Beam laser interception system from Rafael that was delivered to the army five months ago, "Globes" now reveals another Israeli laser system for countering drones. This is Dronelight, developed by Omer-based Esh-Tech Systems, which up to now has operated below the radar,
JP reports.
Esh-Tech was founded six years ago, and deliberately maintained a low profile until it had a finished product, which is now undergoing trials in Israel and overseas. During this period, the company received three grants from the Israel Innovation Authority, the latest, described as "substantial", a few months ago, apparently when it became clear that the system was coming together.
The system emits hundreds of tiny beams the size of a coin at the target. When one beam is seen to make a hit, additional beams are directed at the target, and the focused energy rapidly shoots it down.
Esh-Tech's laser is a pulse laser and is not fiber-based. This means that a hundredth of a second is sufficient for it to score a focused hit on a target. It has an output of four kilowatts, and can destroy a target at a range of up to one kilometer.
Dronelight's output is much lower than that of Iron Beam, but that has an advantage: it can obtain energy from almost any system in the field, and there is no significant complication from the need to charge it. It therefore has an advantage against the future big drone threat: swarm attacks, against which Iron Beam will struggle, because of its serial method of operation and the transition from target to target.
With Dronelight's "machine gun method", it only takes a second or two to shoot down a drone, before moving on to the next threat. Thus 30 threats can be intercepted in a minute, instead of just four in the case of existing laser systems. The cost is also much lower, at about NIS 0.10 per minute of operation.
Dronelight's low output also helps to keep it small and portable. Esh-Tech is already working with armored vehicle manufacturers in Israel and around the world, and has orders worth millions from Europe and elsewhere. The company is also working on mounting the system onto a lightweight platform for Jeeps, and as a fixed system.
The relevant bodies in Israel, such as the Directorate of Defense, Research and Development (Mafat) in the Ministry of Defense, see Dronelight as one of the most promising developments in this area. A few months ago, Esh-Tech was selected as a breakthrough company in the Mafat for Startups program, which means that it will receive up to NIS 10 million support for its product.
