According to an unnamed Israeli official, one of the reasons for approving export licenses is to see how anti-drone systems deal with Iranian UAVs.
Israel has approved export licenses for the possible sale of its anti-UAV systems to Ukraine. This is reported by the publication Axios, citing three Israeli and Ukrainian officials.
The publication says that earlier the Israeli authorities avoided providing Ukraine with direct military assistance in countering Russian aggression, fearing for the security of their country.
In February 2023, the Israeli government reviewed its policy on the Russo-Ukrainian war at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but no new decisions were made.
Israeli and Ukrainian officials told reporters that licenses to sell anti-drone defense systems to Ukraine were approved by Defense Minister Yoav Gallan and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in mid-February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky learned about this during Cohen’s visit to Kyiv on February 15. Licenses have been approved for two Israeli companies, Elbit and Rafael.
One of the Ukrainian officials noted that the agreement had not yet been signed, but a delegation from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had already visited Israel to receive information about anti-drone defense systems.
The electronic warfare means proposed to Ukraine to suppress and destroy drones have a range of about 40 km and can serve to protect power plants and other critical infrastructure.
The Israeli government emphasized that this step is not a change in the political vector, since the mentioned systems perform a defensive function and cannot be used in attacks.
One of the Israeli officials also noted that one of the reasons for approving export licenses is to see how anti-drone systems deal with Iranian UAVs.
Earlier, on March 14, it became known that Lithuanian volunteers purchased 16 Israeli-made tactical radars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military will undergo a four-day training on the use of these technologies on the territory of Lithuania.
We also wrote that Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, during a visit to Kiev on February 15, said that Jerusalem could install a system in Ukraine to warn civilians of approaching Russian missiles and UAVs within four months.
