Israel’s “Skylord” Drone Interception System Being Tested by US Forces

Israel’s “Skylord” Drone Interception System Being Tested by US Forces

The Israeli Ministry of Defense’s R&D unit, together with the Israeli company XTEND and the Anti-Terrorism Body of the US Department of Defense (CTTSO), have launched an operational pilot that will examine the use of the “Skylord” drone interception system for the protection of US military forces.

“Skylord” is a mobile C-UAS inspection and interception system against aerial threats ranging from terrorist drones (munition equipped and surveillance based), to incendiary fixed-wing models airplanes and other malicious aerial threats. It can carry up to 1KG of variable payloads. Skylord allows the operator to feel the area “through the skimmer’s eyes”.

As a result of the close cooperation between the R&D unit and the CTTSO, the system was developed in accordance with the concrete operational needs of US military units. Its capabilities include easy and intuitive operation by the fighters, without complex coordination, An Israeli MoD release said.

After examining the system’s capabilities for about a year, the CTTSO decided to conduct an operational pilot during which the performance in the field of several dozen Skylord systems will be tested.

The Skylord system is equipped with an “augmented reality” interface, which consists of a glider and allows the operator to control it remotely, thus intercepting various aerial threats – mainly enemy gliders. An earlier version of the system has already been used successfully in dealing with “threats on the Gaza border.”

The interface of the system was developed by XTEND, and it allows the operator to feel the area “through the glider’s eyes” and actually experience what is happening as if he is there, without risking his life. Beyond identifying the threats and being able to defend against them, the system also enables remote operation of payloads.

Xtend CEO , Aviv Shapira “The system we have developed is one of the most advanced kinetic skimmer interceptors in the world.”