Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled Hypnosis, a new air-defense system designed to disrupt the satellite-navigation signals used to guide aerial threats. The company says the system is intended to counter large numbers of incoming drones through electronic attack rather than kinetic interception.
Networked soft-kill defense
Hypnosis consists of an array of mobile stations positioned around a defended area. Working together, the stations are designed to jam and spoof satellite-navigation signals and disrupt the command-and-control links of approaching threats, according to IAI.
IAI described the technology as a product of its experience in navigation warfare, or NAVWAR. The system is a soft-kill weapon, meaning it seeks to interfere with a threat’s guidance or control instead of physically destroying it.
Designed for drone-swarm threats
The manufacturer positions Hypnosis as an option for engaging large numbers of drones simultaneously, particularly when hard-kill intercepts would be difficult to carry out because of the volume of airborne objects. Drone swarms can saturate and overwhelm conventional air-defense networks, raising the likelihood that at least one warhead could penetrate defenses.
The unveiling comes as military confrontation between the United States and Iran has resurged and tensions have increased across the Middle East, while Russia and Ukraine continue exchanging missile and drone strikes. Defense companies are developing technologies for drone swarms capable of attacking targets with their own inherent logic, alongside defensive systems intended to address those scenarios.
