A video that raised concern in Israel: the appearance of a drone hunter during Egyptian maneuvers

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Security research institutions in Israel, as well as local media, indicated that the Egyptian army revealed, during this October, the new laser defense system “Egy-Hel-01,” a name believed to be an abbreviation for the “Egyptian High-Energy Laser System” in its first version, during live ammunition exercises conducted by the Second Field Army.

Analyzes issued by Israeli military monitoring and intelligence centers, as well as the Israeli military website "Natsiv", considered that the Egyptian announcement represents a tangible shift in Cairo's armament strategy through direct entry into the era of directed energy weapons (DEW). However, the system is technologically and technically classified within the category of "first generation" with limited tactical capabilities.

The new system is operationally known as a “drone hunter.” Its primary mission is focused on providing short-range air defense against unmanned aerial vehicles, small drones, and light-moving missiles. The system is designed to be installed on light-moving platforms such as small trucks or light tracked vehicles, giving it a high ability to maneuver in the field, change locations quickly, and accompany ground units to provide direct defensive cover against low-altitude threats.

In addition, some military estimates indicated that the system was developed and manufactured inside Egypt through the Technical Research Center of the Armed Forces, with the aim of reducing interception costs and avoiding depleting stocks of expensive traditional interceptor missiles when confronting cheap drones.

Despite the Egyptian success in demonstrating a mobile laser capability, Israeli experts believe that the system is still in its early stages. They estimated its power at between 10 and 30 kilowatts, a capacity similar to the light basic protection systems of the American forces, whose effective range is limited to a few kilometers by relying on heat generation to melt the vital components of structures and slow marches.

However, military circles in Tel Aviv considered that the unveiling of this system constituted a milestone in the development of Egyptian military industries to adapt to modern threats.

These analyzes came at a time when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had confirmed on multiple occasions, most recently in the Egyptian Army’s educational symposium a few days ago, that Egypt “does not put war with Israel on its agenda,” stressing that there are no expansionist intentions or hidden plans against Israel.

Al-Sisi added in response to the statements of an Israeli official that Egypt fought the 1973 war with the clear goal of regaining Sinai, and this goal was fully achieved through the peace treaty, so there is no reason or justification for Egypt to enter into a new military confrontation.

He also asked about the reasons for the continued Israeli concerns towards the Egyptian army. He explained that maximizing military capabilities and developing armaments aims to create deterrence and protect Egyptian national security in a region characterized by fluidity and conflicts, and not with the aim of deviating from the framework of peace or engaging in direct confrontations.

It is noteworthy that Egypt and Israel are bound by the peace treaty signed in 1979, which ended decades of official wars between the two countries and constitutes the regulating framework for relations between them.