US Marines official: Nearly half of drones IDF shoots down are its own

The IDF is shooting down a significant number of its own drones in the course of operations, The War Zone (TWZ) reported Thursday, citing a US Marine Corps official.

According to Marine Lt.-Col. Michael Pruden, the IDF destroyed 40% of its own uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). 

Pruden is head of the Marine Air Command and Control Integration Branch of the Air Combat Element Division within the service's Combat Development and Integration Command (CD&I).

"Something interesting that comes from Israel, 40 percent, 40 percent (this figure was repeated for emphasis), of the UASs ... knocked out" by Israel are instances of "friendly fire," Pruden said during a talk at the annual Modern Day Marine exposition on Wednesday.

He did not provide any additional details of this statistic, including a timeframe, according to TWZ. However, he did imply that this data comes from operations in the Gaza Strip in the current war against Hamas. 

While discussing possible reasons for this number of friendly drones that are knocked down, Pruden said, "As Israel's engaging in Gaza, and they're on their front line, they see a small UAS; what are they going to do if it's not identified immediately? They're going to shoot it down."

Pruden said this is the default course of action because the time between when a drone might be detected and when it could execute an attack is usually measured in "seconds."

IDF has previously acknowledged accidental knockdowns of its own drones

Pruden clarified that the IDF has also previously acknowledged accidental knockdowns of its drones. Since the IDF has one of the world's most advanced integrated air defense systems, if this is an issue for Israel’s military, it will likely be an issue for other militaries worldwide.

The US Marine official highlighted a related communication issue in the US military. "How am I putting a small UAS in the sky, thousands of these things, and not telling anybody about it, especially your ground-based air defense and counter-UAS [elements]?"

Pruden sees these mistaken interceptions as a problem that will only increase as the number of drones flying through the air increases in volume. 

Israel’s current defense system includes Arrow 3, an exoatmospheric hypersonic anti-ballistic missile, and Arrow 2, an endoatmospheric anti-ballistic missile built by Israel Aerospace Industries. Below them are David's Sling and the Iron Dome, made by Rafael.

The laser air defense system, the Iron Beam, will join as another line of defense. In this system, Rafael plays a critical role as the developer of the launcher, while Elbit is the supplier of the laser itself. With the help of a laser beam with a power of about 100 kilowatts, the system is designed to intercept rockets and various drones. However, if the detection system does not improve, this system could also intercept friendly drones.