Israeli military says dozens of Iranian drones foiled by electronic warfare unit

As drone warfare intensifies in the conflict between Iran and Israel, the Israeli military has disclosed a greater role for its electronic warfare capabilities, saying that dozens of Iranian drones have been intercepted in recent days using digital countermeasures.

In a rare acknowledgment of its cyber-electromagnetic operations, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that the 5114th Spectrum Battalion, a unit operating under the military’s Computer Service Directorate, has been central to defending Israeli airspace from Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Hezbollah drone.

“The battalion has played a significant role in the mission to defend against UAVs launched from Iran,” the military said in a statement. It added that the unit uses “advanced technological tools for the real-time detection and neutralization of aerial threats,” providing what it described as an “additional layer of defense” beyond physical interception systems.

Since the start of the war, Iran has launched more than 1,000 drones toward Israel, according to the IDF. Most of the drones have been intercepted by the Air Force and Navy, though one UAV struck a residential building in the northern Israeli city of Beit She’an over the weekend. No casualties were reported.

While Israel’s multi-layered air defense network, including systems such as Iron Dome and David’s Sling, has received extensive attention, the latest disclosure underscores the growing importance of non-kinetic tools in countering low-cost aerial threats. The Spectrum Battalion’s work appears to focus on disrupting communications or guidance systems of incoming drones, potentially rerouting or neutralizing them mid-flight.

The statement did not provide technical details about the methods used, but noted that “dozens of attempts” to carry out drone strikes had been thwarted in recent days through the battalion’s operations.