In 18 months, Israel deplayed an anti-drone system which intercepted dozens of targets throughout the war. There is a laser division in the Israeli Air Force which is operating new laser system built by Rafael. Israel is working on Iron Beam which is Israel’s next-generation interception system that was scheduled to become operational by year’s end.
The operational laser system is not an Iron Dome replacement and it does not represent the full Iron Beam system, which remains under development.
The Magen Or laser system has a power of 100 kilowatts. It can disable cruise missles at a distance of 8-12 kilometers and small drones and 15-20 kilometers. Russia is using laser combat systems in the 20-35 kilowatt range.
Ukraine has unveiled Sky Sentinel which is a fully automated AI-controlled turret that has already downed Russian drones without human intervention. It is a scalable system.
Sky Sentinel AI-operated autonomous .50-caliber BMG turret mounted Anti-Aircraft Gun. The system was designed and built in Ukraine to counter Shahed-type drones.
“There’s no need for a soldier to manually operate the turret,” the team said. “Deploy Sky Sentinel in a combat position, feed it radar data – and it does the rest: detects, tracks, calculates the trajectory, and fires. All autonomously.”
It is equipped with a high-power .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun and an advanced sensor array. The turret can engage moderately fast, low-flying targets moving at speeds of up to 800 km/h (220 m/s; 430 knots) – enough to intercept Shahed drones, which operate at less than 200 km/h, or other small targets.
The exact operational range of Sky Sentinel remains classified. The M2 is known to have an effective range of 1.5 kilometers against airborne threats.
Each unit costs approximately $150,000. Developers estimate that protecting a city would require 10 to 30 turrets – still significantly cheaper than a single interceptor missile from conventional air defense systems.
The US Phalanx guns system is about 70 times more expensive than the Sky Sentinal. Phalanx has a range of 1 to 5 nautical miles (2 to 9 km). Phalanx can engage targets up to 5 times further than Sky Sentinal.
Phalanx Specifications (Block 1A/B)
Gun: 1× 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon
Height: 15.5 ft (4.7 m)
Weight: 12,500 lb (5,700 kg), later models 13,600 lb (6,200 kg)
Elevation: −25° to +85°
Muzzle velocity: 3,600 ft/s (1,100 m/s)
Rate of fire: 4,500 rounds/minute
Maximum burst size: 1000 rounds
Ammunition capacity: 1,550 rounds
Radar: Ku band
Cost: $12 Million
Target Mach: 2
Each Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone used by Russia costs around $100,000, Sky Sentinel offers a scalable and cost-effective solution to a persistent and deadly threat.
Russia continues to upgrade its Shahed-136 drones, adding 4G modems and video cameras.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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