An Israeli military innovation: UAVs

Joint Force Quarterly, Winter, 2002 by Ralph Sanders

It should not be surprising that Israel has become a leader in military innovation given the demands of national security. Among the technologies that it has advanced are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Even though other nations have conducted experiments with these vehicles, Israel developed and fielded them as battlefield systems. UAVs are non-rocket-propelled aircraft that fly within the atmosphere and do not require humans on board to operate them. With aerodynamic features that enable them to lift and carry lethal as well as nonlethal payloads unmanned aerial vehicles perform missions such as reconnaissance, command and control, and deception. They are not intended to replace air crews but to augment them for certain missions.

UAVs are relatively simple and sturdy, taking off and landing conventionally under the control of rated pilots located on the ground. They are sometimes preprogrammed and range in design from modern aircraft to missiles. Israel and America have invested heavily in these vehicles because of their combat performance, versatility, and low cost; thus UAVs are entering a new phase in their development.

Certain advantages were sought by using these vehicles. Because of their relatively small population, Israelis have always been particularly sensitive to loss of life. The Merkava tank, for example, was designed with the engine in front to protect the crew. Likewise, UAVs avoid risks to airmen. Israel recalled the plight of its prisoners of war and the way their enemies exploited them for propaganda. Resource constraints also demanded optimum results from military innovations. Consequently, Israel sought the most efficient technologies. For the most part, and despite certain limitations, UAVs are becoming more economical, making them attractive to political and military leaders alike.

Given the fact that Israel has fought six wars and is engaged in counterterrorist operations of major proportions at present, its defense officials can employ UAVs across a range of missions. It should be stressed that these vehicles represent only one of several innovations developed to meet security challenges. Yet advocates are optimistic because of the advent of lightweight composite structures, reliable digital flight control systems, miniaturized sensors, and strong data links.

The Relevant History

During Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982, Israeli aircraft flew over the Bekaa Valley in the Syrian-occupied area of Lebanon to destroy surface-to-air (SAM) missile batteries. Earlier, UAVs had fingerprinted Syrian surface-to-surface radars by gathering their electronic frequencies. The Israelis then programmed the frequencies into antiradiation missiles. When the assault began, UAVs cruised the battlespace emitting dummy signals. Syrian radar operators thought that Israeli planes were attacking and launched most of their SAMs against un manned vehicles. As the Syrians reloaded and were vulnerable to air attack, Israeli fighters struck with telling effect.

In addition, Syrian radars that tracked UAVs alerted the Israelis to devices which emitted signals. With previously gleaned electronic signatures, Israeli aircraft with antiradiation missiles and supporting artillery fire destroyed the enemy missiles. Israel does not use unmanned vehicles in isolation. It fielded sophisticated jamming systems and precision bombs in 1982, which neutralized 19 enemy batteries. Free of SAMs, Israeli aircraft attacked Syrian aircraft. In what unfolded as the largest air battle since the Korean War, Israel claimed 22 kills without a single loss.

The Israeli military learned vital lessons regarding UAVs during the Yore Kippur War in 1973 and applied them smartly in 1982. In fact, in both Lebanon and Syria, Israel was among the first nations to employ such vehicles regularly for reconnaissance in combat, demonstrating that when used effectively they can help achieve combat objectives.

These vehicles played a significant role while Israel occupied a security zone in southern Lebanon. For example, a UAV squadron served before and during the Grapes of Wrath Operation to find concentrations of terrorists and the homes of their commanders. With forward-looking infrared radar cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles saw at night, removing darkness as a cover for Hizbollah fighters.

Defense Industrial Base

The emergence of unmanned vehicles resembles the early stage of developing computers in the United States. It began when an American, Alvin Ellis, decided that unmanned flight could have a military role in 1967 he moved to Israel and joined Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). After analyzing the Yom Kippur War, he found that a drone equipped with a television camera offered clear battlefield advantages. With an IAI colleague, Yehuda Manor, he built a prototype UAV in a garage, not unlike Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, who assembled the first Apple computer.

After being rejected by IAI, the pair sought backing from a government-owned company. Ellis approached Tadiran, a private electronics conglomerate, which funded the project. Once the prototype was flown in 1973, Tadiran signed a contract to develop an operational model known as Mastiff, with a pusher-propeller twin-boom configuration, a feature that would become standard for combat surveillance. While this unmanned vehicle attracted little attention for some time, the Israeli military eventually became interested. Tadiran and IAI engaged in bitter competition for a defense contract to develop and produce the vehicle.