May 21, 2025: An Israeli firm has developed a counter-drone system to defend ports and ships in or near ports. The EnforceAir2 system has two components, a 464mm radome for locating hostile drones and a 12.8 kg Software Defined Radio transmitter that sends signals that can disable or take over a hostile drone. In the latter case the drone can be recovered for examination or made to crash into the sea or ground.

Israel installed EnforceAir2 on its Saar class corvettes. Currently these ships protect Israeli oil and natural gas well operations off the Mediterranean coast. These wells are a target for the many enemies of Israel in the region. Attack on these wells have not occurred yet, but the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen has been firing missiles from the east coast of the Red Sea at ships heading for the Suez Canal, Israeli facilities at the northern tip of the Red Sea, and Israel in general. The Houthis have fired missiles at Israel and a few have evaded interception. Some damage and injuries have occurred. American and British warships have been attacking the Houthis in an effort to protect shipping. These ships, as well as some commercial ships, can carry an EnforceAir2 system operated by two manufacturer personnel who come aboard for the passage through the Red Sea then get off when the ships reach the Suez Canal. Each EnforceAir2 system costs several hundred thousand dollars and the equipment comes with carrying cases that enable two operators to carry the system anywhere and get it operational quickly.

EnforceAir2 is the latest system Israelis have developed to defend themselves with. Israel has been under attack by rockets and missiles since the nation was founded in 1948. So far Israel has had to deal with 19 wars with its Arab neighbors Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan. After 1979 Iran went from ally and trading partner to the principal enemy of the new religious dictatorship that has misruled the former Israeli friend. Iranian efforts to destroy Israel have led to a series of Iranian failures. The latest one was the October 1 st 2024 missile attack on Israel that employed over 200 missiles. Israel intercepted nearly all of them and the few that got through caused little damage and only one fatality, a Palestinian man killed by a large component from an intercepted Iranian missile. Israel had some help from three American destroyers off the coast using their anti-aircraft weapons.

EnforceAir2 is a relatively inexpensive way to deal with hostile drones costing from several hundred to several thousand dollars each. Previously Israel used its Iron Dome to take down drones. This system has, for over a decade, been the principal weapon that kept Israel safe from missile and drone attacks. Iron Dome missile launchers hold 20 Tamir missiles. Each 160mm diameter Tamir weighs 90 kg and is three meters long. Tamir’s guidance system has a radar and a proximity fuze which detects the size and speed of a nearby target and detonates the warhead only if the right type of target like drone, cruise missile or rocket is detected. Because of recently added features for destroying cruise missiles and drones, the cost per Tamir missile went from $50,000 to nearly $150,000.

In 2020 Tamir proved its ability to down cruise missiles and drones using the Iron Dome radar and fire control system. In that test Iron Dome systems on land and Israeli ships were integrated into a multi-layer air defense system that included David’s Sling, which is similar to the American Patriot, and Israel’s own Arrow ABM (anti-ballistic missile system). Iron Dome can use other air defense search, fire control and target management systems. With that Israel began offering the Tamir missiles and launchers to export customers.

Continuous Israeli upgrades of Iron Dome enabled it to shoot down various types of drones. This required some software modifications and was done at the request of the U.S. Army. Iron Dome was already capable of shooting down aircraft and helicopters. The drones were often much smaller, but so are the rockets and mortar shells Iron Dome can knock down. The United States has contributed over a billion dollars to development and procurement of Iron Dome. Periodically adding new features like this helps export sales.

Israel initially designed the Iron Dome to only defend stationary targets. By 2014 Israel had fifteen batteries of Iron Dome and over 2,000 Tamir missiles. That was enough to shut down a Hamas effort to hit Israel with thousands of rockets. Each battery has radar, fire control equipment, and 3-4 missile launchers, each with 20 missiles and costs $37-50 million for the basic, no anti-aircraft capability model, and depending on how many missiles it is shipped with. With the new system, a battery with two radars and three launchers costs about $100 million and can protect an area of about 150 square kilometers.

In 2014 the U.S. Army purchased an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery from Israel, mainly to determine if Iron Dome would be worth getting for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan where American troops were still stationed. This American purchase was the first export sale of Iron Dome. The U.S. bought two more batteries in 2020 and 2021. Israeli efforts to export their Iron Dome anti-rocket system were slow initially but eventually succeeded with Azerbaijan, India and several other counters placing orders. The Israeli manufacturer of Iron Dome thought this would make Iron Dome a hot export item. After all, Israel is one of the top ten weapons exporters in the world. This is because the Israeli system works well and is usually combat tested. Although the Iron Dome system had succeeded in shooting down about 85 percent of the rockets headed for Israeli populated areas, that was a unique situation.

Continued success eventually made Iron Dome exportable, especially after the anti-aircraft, drone and cruise missile capabilities were added. The U.S. was willing to buy more Iron Dome systems but wanted access to the fire control source code. Israel refused because American security is less strict than Israel’s and a leak of that source code would enable an enemy to determine exploitable weaknesses in Iron Dome. This software dispute was eventually resolved.