Israel Weapons Industry expands into Southeast Asia with Thailand’s deployment of counter-drone system

A soldier holds a gun fitted with the ARBEL Anti-Drone System. (Photo Courtesy of IWI)

JERUSALEM — Small arms manufacturer Israel Weapons Industry is expanding its reach into Southeast Asia with four nations “currently at different stages of the procurement process” for its ARBEL Anti-Drone System, the company recently told Breaking Defense.

“We are seeing strong demand for our platforms and systems across the region,” the company said in response to questions about its growth strategy for southern Asia, where “countering the growing drone threat is one of the most pressing concerns our customers are raising.”

ARBEL is currently available for AR-15-type platforms, light machine guns and as an anti-drone system. This means soldiers can use it on existing rifle platforms they are already familiar with. It is also “optics-agnostic,” the company noted in an October statement.

Most recently, IWI, which is part of Israel’s SK Group, delivered the ARBEL ADS to Thailand’s Ministry of Defense, the company shared in an Oct. 22 statement.

“Following integration into its existing rifles and on-site training by IWI, the ARBEL ADS has been deployed and is now operational for day and night use,” the company said at the time.

As seen in the Ukraine-Russia war and the conflict between the US and Israel and Iran, small drone threats have been increasing, leading countries to seek out their own drone and counter-drone systems.

In the October statement, SK Group Vice President Doron Korol noted: “As Southeast Asian militaries place greater emphasis on counter-drone capabilities, Thailand’s adoption of ARBEL ADS reflects this growing operational priority. We see rising demand across the region for solutions that can help soldiers meet this challenge.”

SK Group’s Vice Chairman Ronen Hamudot added that “small tactical drones have become a direct and growing threat to soldiers on the battlefield.”

“While each country is moving at its own pace, the level of engagement reflects a broader shift in defense priorities across the region and the growing recognition that counter-drone capabilities are essential to modern military operations,” IWI said in last month’s statement.

Thailand integrated the system by replacing the lower receiver of existing rifles with the Arbel ADS system. “This approach enables militaries to upgrade their existing platforms locally without replacing their rifle inventories or procuring entirely new weapons,” IWI noted in its October statement.

IWI also said there are discussions with Thailand about additional orders.

In response to questions from Breaking Defense, the company said “This year alone, we conducted several ARBEL ADS demonstrations in Southeast Asian countries, reflecting growing interest in effective counter-drone solutions. Thailand’s deployment represents an important milestone, and we see significant potential to build on this momentum across the region.”

The company declined to disclose which other three Asian nations are in the process of procuring ARBEL systems. However, IWI told Breaking Defense that “the threat posed by small tactical drones is not confined to any one region, and Asian militaries face an increasingly complex security environment that includes terrorism, cross-border smuggling and the growing use of drones for hostile attacks.”

The company further pointed to “recent drone-related hostilities along the Cambodia-Thailand border” as underscoring the emerging threats in the region.

IWI unveiled ARBEL in April 2024, and called it the “world’s first-ever revolutionary computerized small arms system” that was “poised to re-defined combat effectiveness.”

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一名士兵手持装有ARBEL反无人机系统的枪支。（图片由IWI提供）

耶路撒冷——以色列武器工业公司近日告诉《防务新闻》，小型武器制造商以色列武器工业公司正在扩大其在东南亚的业务，目前有四个国家“正处于其 ARBEL 反无人机系统采购流程的不同阶段”。

该公司在回应有关其在南亚的增长战略的问题时表示：“我们看到该地区对我们的平台和系统有着强劲的需求。”在南亚，“应对日益增长的无人机威胁是我们的客户提出的最紧迫的问题之一。”

ARBEL目前可用于AR-15型步枪、轻机枪以及反无人机系统。这意味着士兵可以在他们已经熟悉的现有步枪平台上使用它。该公司在10月份的一份声明中指出，它也“与光学瞄具无关”。

以色列SK集团旗下的IWI公司最近向泰国国防部交付了ARBEL ADS系统，该公司在10月22日的一份声明中表示。

“经过 IWI 的现场培训，ARBEL ADS 已部署到现有步枪上，现在可以昼夜使用，”该公司当时表示。

从乌克兰-俄罗斯战争、美国与以色列以及伊朗之间的冲突中可以看出，小型无人机的威胁日益增加，促使各国寻求发展自己的无人机和反无人机系统。

SK集团副总裁多伦·科罗尔在10月份的声明中指出：“随着东南亚各国军队越来越重视反无人机能力，泰国采用ARBEL ADS系统也反映了这一日益增长的作战优先事项。我们看到，整个地区对能够帮助士兵应对这一挑战的解决方案的需求正在不断增长。”

SK集团副董事长罗南·哈穆多特补充说，“小型战术无人机已成为战场上士兵面临的直接且日益严重的威胁。”

“虽然每个国家都在按自己的节奏前进，但参与程度反映了该地区国防优先事项的更广泛转变，以及人们越来越认识到反无人机能力对现代军事行动至关重要，”IWI在上个月的声明中表示。

泰国通过将现有步枪的下机匣更换为Arbel ADS系统，实现了该系统的集成。“这种方法使军队能够在本地升级现有平台，而无需更换步枪库存或采购全新的武器，”IWI在其10月份的声明中指出。

IWI还表示，他们正在与泰国商讨追加订单事宜。

针对《防务新闻》的提问，该公司表示：“仅今年一年，我们就在东南亚国家进行了多次ARBEL主动防御系统演示，这反映出人们对有效的反无人机解决方案的兴趣日益浓厚。在泰国的部署是一个重要的里程碑，我们看到了在整个地区延续这一势头的巨大潜力。”

该公司拒绝透露其他三个正在采购ARBEL系统的亚洲国家是哪三个。不过，IWI告诉《防务新闻》，“小型战术无人机构成的威胁并非局限于任何一个地区，亚洲各国军队面临着日益复杂的安全环境，其中包括恐怖主义、跨境走私以及无人机在敌对袭击中日益增多的使用。”

该公司还指出，“最近柬埔寨-泰国边境发生的与无人机有关的敌对行动”凸显了该地区正在出现的威胁。

IWI 于 2024 年 4 月推出了 ARBEL，并称其为“世界上第一个革命性的计算机化小型武器系统”，有望“重新定义战斗效能”。

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