How did the United States shoot down an unarmed Iranian UAV

The US Navy used for the first time a new generation electronic weapon to detect and neutralize a so-called Iranian drone that was approaching too close to its fleet in the Strait of Hormuz. Explanations.

Among the recurring incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the latest is an Iranian drone shot down by the US Navy because it was approaching too close to the USS Boxer helicopter carrier. Following the announcement by President Trump, the Iranians denied this destruction. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, it is a new kind of anti-drone weapon that would have ensured the destruction of the supposedly Iranian aircraft. This new generation of electronic weapons is called the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS). In its statement, the US Navy explains that it is “the first killing by a new generation of electronic warfare weapons and directed energy weapons.”

At first, the system will detect a drone by active radar and several optical and infrared sensors. To neutralize it, it will scramble the signal between the drone and its transmitting station on the ground. It is this loss of connection that causes the destruction of the device. A simple efficient method, but rather intended for civil drones. Unlike the gigantic RQ-4 Global Hawk costing more than $ 200 million, shot down by the Islamic Republic, the drone in question would look like a small, improved civil model. Hence the use of this type of jamming, rather than a very expensive missile.

Scramble to destroy

This type of system was developed for particular battlefields like in Syria and Iran, where mass-market drones proved their potential for destruction by dropping grenades. If it was the naval version of the device, the LMADIS system normally includes two small all-terrain vehicles, called Polaris MRZR. One carries all the equipment for detection and jamming. The other serves as a connected command center. Once the drone is identified by the operator, it can emit a powerful radio discharge to break the connection between the device and its base.

The process is not very different from the jammers currently available and used in the fight against drones. Simply, the power, as well as the frequency range are much more important. The latter increases the chances of quickly neutralizing the target. The only problem is that if the drone is autonomous, drone jammer will be useless and the aircraft will continue its trajectory.