Israel’s “Red Sky 2” Drone Defender System Was Used for the First Time at Thai King’s Funeral

A short-range drone defense system developed by Israeli arms manufacturer IMI Systems Ltd. (Israeli Military Industries) was operated for the first time by the Thai Air Force last October, IMI announced Sunday. The system, dubbed Red Sky 2 Drone Defender, was used to protect some 250,000 participants in the royal funeral ceremony of former King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), including members of the Thai royal family and official representatives from 42 countries.

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During the funeral events, the system received two alerts of attempts to activate drones in the vicinity. Both attempts were neutralized, IMI said.

The Red Sky 2 Drone Defender system detects unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) suspected as hostile, disrupts, and neutralizes them. The system combines a radar developed by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) which has a range of three to five kilometers, with a radio frequency bugging system by Israeli radio frequency technology company MCTECH technology Ltd. Red Sky 2 also incorporates an electro-optical thermal camera used to identify threats. The lightweight system works with a variety of shoulder-launched missiles to automatically intercept aerial targets.

The Red Sky 2 was purchased by the Thai Air Force a week before the funeral of Rama IX, as part of the preparations for the ceremony.

Following the successful initial operation, the Thai authorities used the system again in November, during the Royal Thai NAVY International Fleet Review event in Pattaya.

The article was first published on IsraelDefense.co.il