Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has unveiled a new counter unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) called HYPNOSIS, a new high‑power navigation warfare (NAVWAR) air‑defense system designed to disrupt and neutralize aerial threats that rely on satellite‑based navigation. The system adds a dedicated soft‑kill layer to existing air‑defense architectures, aiming to counter the growing use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) deployed in large numbers.
The new capability aims to resolve a threat that has disrupted hundreds of flights across flight corridors around conflict zones and dramatically disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war with Iran.
Modern aerial platforms-especially drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles-depend on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) for precise positioning and timing data. By jamming or spoofing these signals, HYPNOSIS prevents hostile systems from accurately navigating to their targets.
Spoofing and jamming have emerged as powerful tools for disrupting GPS signals, with military forces long using these methods in electronic warfare.
Jamming is the more straightforward of the two. It involves overwhelming GPS receivers with noise or interference on the same frequency used by satellites. Because GPS signals are extremely weak, by the time they reach earth, even low-powered jamming devices can block them entirely.
The result is a denial of service: aircraft, ships, cars, or smartphones suddenly lose their ability to determine location or time. While jamming is relatively easy to detect – users simply notice that their devices stop working – it can still cause chaos.
Spoofing, by contrast, is more insidious. Instead of blocking signals, spoofing creates counterfeit ones that mimic legitimate satellite transmissions. A receiver locked onto these fake signals will calculate false positions, velocities, or times, often without realizing it has been deceived.
This makes spoofing far harder to detect than jamming. People may continue to see apparently normal GPS readings, unaware that they are being misled. The implications are serious: ships can be tricked into sailing off course, drones can be hijacked mid-flight, and critical infrastructure that depends on GPS timing can be manipulated.
The system consists of mobile jamming and spoofing stations deployed around protected areas. These stations operate together through a unified command‑and‑control (C2) center that manages real‑time coordination, threat analysis, and rapid response. The architecture allows HYPNOSIS to adapt to changing threat environments and operate autonomously without operator intervention.
Built on the company’s experience in NAVWAR technologies, HYPNOSIS integrates advanced signal‑disruption capabilities designed to counter both standard and sophisticated navigation systems. Its networked C2 structure also enables seamless integration with hard‑kill air‑defense systems, supporting coordinated engagements during complex, multi‑directional attacks.
In a press release, IAI said that HYPNOSIS can “counter coordinated attacks involving multiple threats approaching simultaneously from different directions.”
The system, once in use, would reduce the chances that drones and missiles launched by hostile actors targeting nations across the region would successfully reach and strike civilian population centers and infrastructure.
Boaz Levy, IAI’s chairman of the board, said of the unveiling that the technology reinforces the fact that IAI is “delivering advanced technologies that provide our customers with decisive operational advantage to safeguard both national security and civilian lives.”
“Today’s battlespace demands integrated, multi-layered defense capabilities that can address multiple threats,” Levy said, adding that the unveiling of the technology reinforces the fact that IAI is “delivering advanced technologies that provide our customers with decisive operational advantage to safeguard both national security and civilian lives.”
Executive Vice President and General Manager of Space Missiles and Systems Guy Barlev added that “HYPNOSIS provides a critical and highly effective soft-kill defense layer, enabling nations to address the growing spectrum of GNSS-based aerial threats” and that “the system represents a significant leap forward in protecting strategic assets.”
IAI says HYPNOSIS is intended to defend critical national assets such as energy facilities, strategic sites, and air‑defense arrays. The system is engineered to handle coordinated attacks involving multiple threats approaching simultaneously, offering a scalable and adaptive protective layer for nations facing increasingly complex aerial challenges.
Unmanned systems and other types of drones have become an integral part of military operations and have posed a serious issue for Israel and other militaries like Ukraine.
Drones have accounted for a large number of deadly attacks on IDF troops in southern Lebanon, with Israeli soldiers in some cases resorting to improvised defenses, including fishing nets sourced from Galilee fishermen, while the defense establishment works toward a more effective and universal countermeasure.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report