Houthi drone attack exposes gaps in Israel's air defence system
Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked near the US embassy in Tel Aviv. Here is how they might have sneaked through the best-protected city in the world.
Israel has been under fire for many years from groups such as Hamas militants from Gaza and Hezbollah operating from Lebanon. As a result, Israel has developed the most sophisticated anti-aircraft and missile defence system in the world.
This system is multi-layered and extremely difficult to penetrate, but as the Yemeni Houthi rebels demonstrated, it is not invincible. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the night of 18-19 July 2024. Utilising the new Yafa drone, the attack was intended as a gesture of solidarity and support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Additionally, the Houthis announced further attacks in their declaration.
It is also worth noting that the intended target was most likely the nearby American embassy, but due to the precision limitations of commercial navigation modules, the drone missed.
Yafa drone — a Houthi or Iranian stealth drone
It is important to note that this is not the first Houthi attack on Israel; such assaults have been carried out with varying intensity since November 2023. However, this latest attack seems to be the first to succeed, resulting in the death of at least one person and injuring nine others.
Like Hezbollah, the Houthis had substantial time to build up their arsenal. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2015, with a fragile ceasefire taking place in 2022. This was disrupted recently. The Houthis' efforts in arming themselves with Iranian equipment were interrupted by a series of attacks on civilian ships, which led to retaliatory bombings carried out by the US Navy and Royal Air Force.
The Yemeni Houthis had limited options regarding drones capable of flying distances of around 1,200 miles. Earlier attacks were conducted using Samad-3 drones, which likely featured additional fuel tanks for their internal combustion engines. These drones have a wingspan of 15 feet and a length of approximately 10 feet and can carry up to 88 pounds of payload. Photos of the drone remaining from the Tel Aviv attack show a design with straight wings, ruling out the well-known Shahed-136 from Ukraine.
The new Yafa drone may evolve the Samad-3, incorporating stealth features, or perhaps a variant of the "kamikaze" new Iranian Shahed-149 drone, which is somewhat a clone of the MQ-9A Reaper.
Here's how the Houthi drone could avoid being shot down
For slow drones and cruise missiles, the best way to avoid detection by air defence radars is to fly as low as possible, using natural terrain features such as riverbeds or valleys. For most drones with inertial or satellite navigation, it is possible to programme a flight along a pre-determined path.
This is because air defence system radars have a limited line-of-sight detection range for low-flying objects, about 25 miles or less if the target has a reduced radar signature. A system battery must be deployed every 25 miles or less to create an airtight air defence.
Even Israel lacks such capabilities, which creates gaps. The only effective way to detect such low-flying targets is to elevate the radar to a high altitude. This can be achieved in two ways: using AWACS aircraft (of which Israel has only four) or employing aerostats or large drones such as the IAI Heron. However, 24/7 surveillance is also very costly and not always feasible.
