Since the start of Operation Iron Swords, Hezbollah has launched more than 2,500 drones at Israel. Most have been taken down but at an excruciating cost of an estimated $30,000 per downing. Now the IDF is exploring a new way to deal with the drones, which may prove useful to Iran and Russia’s other enemy, Ukraine.
In recent days, the IDF has placed the first Vulcan cannon on the northern border, to intercept drones launched from Lebanon. The latest version of this cannon was created by the Israeli company Tamar, and the IDF will examine its operational effectiveness.
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary machinegun that fires 20 mm × 102 mm rounds at an extremely high rate (6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its family of derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft for at least sixty years.
Each of the cannon’s six barrels fires once in turn during each revolution of the barrel cluster. The multiple barrels provide both a very high rate of fire—around 100 rounds per second—and contribute to prolonged weapon life by minimizing barrel erosion and heat generation. The average time between jams or failures is more than 10,000 rounds, making it an extremely reliable weapon.
According to the IDF, the M61’s economics speak for themselves: according to the Alma Research Institute, since the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, while the cost of intercepting 2,500 drones by Iron Dome missiles is frightening: $75,000,000, the use of the Vulcan may reduce costs to $10 per round, depending on factors such as season, supply and demand, country of production, the manufacturer, and the nature of the procurement contract.
The IDF says it will require about 400 rounds to take down one drone – that’s $4,000 tops. Or, to down 2,500 drones – $10,000,000, less than a seventh of the Iron Dome cost.
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