Tel Aviv. The growing danger of explosive drones like the ones used by the Houthi rebels in Yemen mainly against Saudi Arabia, prompts efforts to intercept them at an early phase of their flight. One such system is currently being developed in Israel.

Israeli sources said that the Iranian directed Houthi drone industry may transfer explosive drones to other parts of the world like Lebanon and Syria.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, an Iranian proxy, launched more than 40 drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia in February alone, a senior US Defense official told NBC News.

“We’re certainly aware of a troubling increase in Houthi cross-border attacks from a variety of systems, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” the Defense official said.

But unlike a devastating drone and cruise missile attack in September 2019 that knocked out two crucial oil plants, Saudi Arabia has managed to shoot down many of the incoming drones and missiles.

Israeli sources said that while currently operational, anti drone systems can intercept drones when they approach their designated targets, this capability must be upgraded so that the explosive carrying drone is intercepted and destroyed far from its target.

This, according to the sources, can be done by a very strong laser beam “some Israeli anti drone systems are equipped with low power lasers but we talk about something else.”

The Israeli ministry of defence has initiated a program aimed at developing a laser weapon against aerial targets. One is designed to operate from the ground but as lasers are limited by clouds and dust, another system is designed to operate from the air.

The ministry has not revealed more details on the aerial program but sources said that the laser “canon” is designed to operate from a long endurance UAV.

-The writer is an international roving correspondent of the publication