By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM, May 26 (Reuters) – Israel’s largest defence contractor is developing hardware to combat explosive Hezbollah drones that have killed Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including through the potential use of laser-based defence systems, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has used the cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones to attack Israeli troops which have remained in southern Lebanon since an April 16 truce. Difficult for air defences to thwart, the drones are also being used to deadly effect in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Under pressure to address the threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to escalate attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. But he did not spell out a plan to address the drones, which can evade Israel’s high-tech jamming technologies.
ELBIT DEVELOPING HARDWARE TO ADDRESS DRONES, CEO SAYS
In an interview, Bezhalel Machlis, chief executive of Elbit Systems , said the defence giant was actively working with the Israeli defence ministry to develop a quick solution to the drone challenge.
He said that could involve an “energy weapon solution,” adding that the company is “very active in energy weapons such as lasers”.
“There are other means, which are also relevant to this threat. We are heavily involved in the development of a solution (to) this challenge” of explosive drones, Machlis said after Elbit reported big gains in first-quarter revenue and profit. Its Nasdaq-listed shares rose 8% in morning trade.
Israel has been using low-tech solutions like nets to stop the First-Person-View drones, controlled with fiber-optic cables, from hitting troops.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict has been the deadliest spillover of the broader U.S.-Israel war on Iran, where hopes faded on Tuesday for an imminent end to the conflict after the U.S. conducted strikes in the country’s south.
Iran insists that any deal to end the war should include an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Netanyahu has demanded the right to continue to strike anywhere in the region to address perceived threats.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah said its fighters used explosive drones and rocket fire against Israeli forces advancing toward the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya, describing it as a response to Israeli strikes on Lebanese villages.
The drones and the Israeli defence industry’s involvement in developing technology to address them comes amid a rise in Israeli defence exports, with demand for Israeli military tech such as munitions, laser and electronic warfare systems and night-vision systems up sharply since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.
Machlis said Elbit was seeing rising demand in Europe, the U.S., and the Asia-Pacific, as well as from the United Arab Emirates.
“We are active in this region,” Machlis said of Elbit’s Middle East business. “It is fast growing.”
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Additional reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai; editing by Rami Ayyub and Sharon Singleton)
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