Maariv: An Israeli weapons expert explains in detail the capabilities of a new weapon possessed by Hezbollah
Maariv newspaper published an article discussing the news which stated that Iran had delivered electromagnetic weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Against the backdrop of what was published, Maariv conducted an interview with Rotem Meital, CEO of Asgard Systems, which is concerned with developing military technology for the defense industries in Israel, where the official said that “describing weapons as electromagnetic means talking about something that no one has seen before, but everyone understands that it exists in reality and in our case on the geopolitical and military chessboard in the Middle East”.
“Imagine that lightning strikes the building you live in and the water, electricity, appliances, television and medical systems stop working just like in a power outage,” Rotem Meital said in his description of the electromagnetic weapon.
“These systems in this case could burn from the inside like an electrical short circuit,” he added.
He continued, saying, “I assume that the threat is more focused on strategic bases and facilities, water desalination systems, and Israeli electricity grid systems, but it cannot be said with precision that such a weapon has not been used in history… There are no sources and references from which to learn”.
“Physics is physics but the way they choose to use such a capability is different, but I think the model will certainly be in the form of a low-flying drone, just like the Houthi attack last weekend near the US embassy in Tel Aviv… Instead of a kinetic warhead with gunpowder, it would be possible to arm the nose of the drone with a preemptive electromagnetic pulse mechanism that is triggered by the drone flying and emits an electromagnetic pulse at the moment of contact with the target,” he said.
“But again, it’s not really possible to know and it’s mostly just speculation… This is because there is no documentation yet of the use of such a weapon or technology,” Meital added.
“From a personal perspective, this is not only a step on the map of potential threats, but it is necessary and correct to treat such a threat as a close step and address the threat with unconventional weapons,” Meital said.
He explained that the threat of non-conventional weapons is real because electronic processors in 2024 will manage and operate all vital systems in Israel, including infrastructure, medical systems, security and military applications.
“If we think of the 1960s analogy that says that in a nuclear explosion only the cockroaches will survive… the same applies to an electromagnetic attack but this time the cockroaches (a term referring to electronic components in electrical circuits) won’t survive,” he concluded, stressing that this would affect everyone.
