Yuval Eylon & Liran Antebi
Considering the increased success that Hezbollah has enjoyed in recent weeks in deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack Israel, and the IDF’s limited success in intercepting them, we must ask whether and to what extent Israel is prepared to deal with similar unmanned threats that could be unleashed in the maritime domain. Unmanned systems are operated at sea and from sea, both unmanned surface vessels (USVs), which float on the surface of the water, and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). While developed countries have been building and using these systems for several years, the past decade has also seen terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Houthis add them to their arsenals. This has created a genuine challenge not only for the State of Israel but also other countries, international bodies, commercial companies, and any other player that could be harmed by the threat to the freedom of navigation as well as offshore infrastructure or ports.
Unmanned Maritime Systems
Some of the capabilities of unmanned maritime systems were developed in the civilian market and later transferred to the military. Currently, these systems are a significant component in many military forces across the globe. USVs and UUVs are used to protect ports, conduct SSW (subsea warfare), locate mines, wage electronic warfare, misdirect, conduct routine security and, more recently, to collect and attack as noted especially in the war in Ukraine and the de-facto war between the Houthi terrorists in Yemen and the maritime coalition led by the US Navy.
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