IDF Ground Forces Commander Maj.-Gen. Nadav Lotan is working to establish a new corps dedicated to countering low-altitude drone threats, as part of an effort to strengthen Israel's defenses against the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, Walla learned on Tuesday.
For more than a decade, the IDF has been trying to address the threat posed by drones operating in the airspace close to the ground, using a variety of methods. However, these efforts have accelerated since the October 7 massacre, alongside a worldwide push to develop solutions.
The threat became evident during Hamas's attacks along the Gaza border at the beginning of the war and during the initial stages of the IDF's ground maneuver deep into the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah subsequently employed drones against IDF troops in southern Lebanon and civilians in Israel's home front.
The drone threat has also manifested itself in the smuggling of weapons and drugs across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders. Smugglers have used particularly heavy drones capable of carrying payloads weighing dozens of kilograms. There are also growing concerns that drones could become a significant threat in the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division and along the Syrian border.
The Defense Ministry and the IDF have accelerated projects to improve drone protection within the defense establishment. Some of these projects involve Israeli companies, while others entail purchasing technology from abroad.
Accordingly, the IDF has begun deploying various defense systems in the field to improve and refine protection against different types of drones, including fiber-optic drones. These pose a considerable challenge for conventional militaries because they are difficult to detect. As a result, armies generally counter them using nets, interceptor drones, and ground-based gunfire.
Five border defense battalions to form the foundation of new corps
The IDF recently decided to establish the new low-altitude airspace defense corps using the existing border infantry battalions as its foundation.
The corps will initially be based on five battalions that routinely protect the borders with Jordan and Egypt, as well as the security barrier area in the West Bank.
Under the plan, these battalions will assume an additional mission alongside their existing responsibility for defending Israel's land borders: protecting against mobile threats operating in the airspace close to the ground.
According to assessments, the corps' sixth battalion will be the tactical air defense battalion established during the war in response to threats from Gaza and Lebanon that emerged on an unprecedented scale.
IDF transferring Ground Forces resources to support new anti-drone corps
To support the new corps' establishment, the IDF will transfer significant resources from the Ground Forces to supplement the capabilities already available within the Border Defense Corps.
These resources will include additional training personnel to develop a drone school focused on defensive missions.
The IDF's Ground Forces already operate significant defensive drone capabilities, including intelligence-gathering operations conducted using drones by Unit 9900 of the Military Intelligence Directorate.
It can therefore be assessed that Military Intelligence will play a role in developing the emerging combat doctrine, operational methods, and the type and scale of procurement involving drones and associated technologies, as well as training.