Inexpensive fiber-optic drones are challenging Israel’s high-tech defenses, shifting the military balance in the Middle East.
A recent video showing an explosive-laden drone striking an Israeli Iron Dome battery couldn’t have been more symbolic: Israel’s famous air-defense system, which cost billions of euros, looked powerless against a small aircraft that cost a few hundred euros.
While the video’s authenticity has not yet been verified, experts believe it is genuine.
The footage was published about a week ago by Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based pro-Iranian militia, which Germany, the US and several Sunni Arab states have classified as a terrorist organization.
The drone strike, if genuine, would mark propaganda victory for Hezbollah and reveal a significant vulnerability in Israel’s military capabilities.
No. Just think about it. If these were only good for sunny weather, they wouldn’t be putting in the resources to develop them. Such a weapon would be useless if your enemy just has to wait for a cloudy day. You just use a wavelength that isn’t scattered by water molecules.
There is no such wavelength available to my knowledge, although I would appreciate if someone pointed out a suitable window.
They are indeed throwing a lot of resources at a solution that will need a (kinetic) backup solution on a rainy, foggy or snowy day.
Water droplets absorb and scatter visible light, thermal radiation and short-wavelength radio waves. To the point of military radars being less capable during rain. Ice crystals are easier on radar, but mess up light even more severely.
The “resources to develop” are tax dollars. “They” will happily go along with whatever bullshit effectively transfers tax dollars into their bank accounts.