The problem with “friendly fire”, Israel shoots down almost half of its own drones
All of this is especially important in a context where there are more and more drones in the sky, and it is all the more difficult to distinguish between your own and the one that needs to be “landed”
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Pruden, an officer of the US Marine Corps, told reporters during the annual Modern Day Marine exhibition that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shoots down a significant number of its own drones during its military operations.
“We have something interesting from Israel: 40 percent, 40 percent of the UAVs… shot down by Israel are an example of ‘friendly fire,'” The War Zone quoted Pruden as saying. It is noted that the officer did not specify in what context these “40 percent” should be perceived, in particular, during what period this statistic was evaluated.
Al Qassam Brigades (Hamas) destroyed a Merkava Mk4, possibly the same one we have seen from the ground, with a drone-dropped PG-7VR tandem HEAT RPG projectile, easily piercing the armor from above. pic.twitter.com/6R3nq4h62c
– Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) October 7, 23
Pruden explains such a high percentage of drone shootdowns quite simply: when IDF soldiers see a small drone on the front line, they try to shoot it down by default, because the time it takes for a drone to launch an attack, for example, is often “measured in seconds.”
But in general, the loss of drones from friendly fire is a fairly common problem that will only increase given that the number of drones on the battlefield is definitely not decreasing. This issue is also relevant directly to the US Marine Corps, which is currently working to strengthen its own air defense, including paying attention to threats posed by drones.
According to Pruden, new sensors and communication networks, as well as other capabilities that would use artificial intelligence and machine learning, could be options for solutions against friendly fire. Ideally, he envisions a situation where a soldier simply looks at a tablet and can understand where friendly and hostile UAVs are. “That’s what we’re looking at, and it’s hard to do,” he concluded.
