The drone threat to our southern border with Egypt is being generated by two criminal organizations. One is led by the billionaire Bedouin drug and gun runner Ibrahim Al-Arjani, while the other involves a large number of corrupt Egyptian Generals, who may also be preparing the stage for an invasion of Israel.
Al-Arjani, a member of the Tarhabin tribe that has members on both sides of the border, was previously responsible for operating the tunnels under Rafah that supplied Hamas with the weapons it needed to invade Israel on October 7. Credible reports have also confirmed that Al-Arjani shared his profits with a group of Egyptian generals that included President Sisi’s son. With that business now closed down, Al-Arjani has shifted his illicit activities to flying drugs and weapons by drones to criminal elements in the Tarhabin Bedouin tribe located in the Negev. More troubling, Al-Arjani operates a Wagner-like military group within the Egyptian Army, which is completely under his control. This mercenary unit not only operates the drones crossing our border, but also provides the security needed to protect this activity.
It’s clear that the Egyptian Army is facilitating these drone flights and is receiving a share of the profits they generate. The Egyptians are also becoming aware of our vulnerability to drone incursions and may one day exploit this weakness to launch a major drone attack against our southern front. Their supply of heavy weaponry to Al-Arjani may also provide them with the means of arming terrorist cells across the border, who could undermine our security throughout the Negev. They could also play an important role assisting an Egyptian invasion by attacking the IDF’s logistical convoys bringing up needed munitions to the front lines.
In order to stop Al-Arjani’s criminal enterprise from expanding and prevent the Egyptian Army from creating a security threat to our southern communities, it is imperative that we immediately establish an anti-drone defensive line all along our border with Sinai.
This line will consist of mobile units equipped with a range of weapons and sensors. These include:
(1) A large number of tethered surveillance drones that have a service ceiling of 1,000m will form a key element of the ground surveillance capabilities of each unit. These drones will have 360 degree optical coverage capable of allowing the unit commander to see at least 10km into Sinai. The principal mission of these drones will be to locate and track Al-Arjani’s security teams traveling in armed pick up trucks on the Egyptian side of the border.
(2) Once these mercenary forces are found, an attached kamikaze drone team will eliminate both them and all response elements deployed to evacuate the wounded.
(3) In order to neutralize Al-Arjani’s drones, four weapons systems will be employed. The first consists of a wheeled vehicle that has a gun system consisting of either a 20mm Gatling gun or rapid fire 30mm canon. Effective engagements by these weapons can begin at around 2,000m. These weapons will fire special “ahead” detonating shells that should be able to destroy a drone with a minimum amount of ammunition.
The gun system will be flanked by attached boxed launchers for small anti-drone missiles. The number of missiles could amount to as many as 72 interceptors, capable of engagements out to 1km and a maximum height of 2km. Guidance will be provided by onboard AESA radars augmented by an optronics package. ECM equipment will also be available.
The second vehicle integral to this unit will carry the “Leonidas”High Power Microwave (HPM) antenna. Made by the American company Epirus, Leonidas is capable of rapidly destroying both large drone swarms and smaller 1-5 drone “convoys” that have recently been used by Al-Arjani’s forces. Although we don’t currently have such a weapon in our inventory, Epirus could easily provide them at short notice.
The third vehicle integral to our anti-drone team will consist of a light tank mounting a 105mm gun. Firing either radar and/or laser guided, rocket assisted projectiles (RAPs) this vehicle will target heavy enemy drones flying at heights of 5km. These drones can carry an assortment of weapons that we absolutely have to prent from falling into the hands of Bedouin criminals. Apart from MAG machine guns, the 8 rotor drones Arjani is using for arms shipments could also carry RPG anti tank weapons. These would represent an extremely dangerous addition to the Bedouins’ armament mix that would give them the ability to outgun police and border patrol units sent to arrest them.
Rounding out our drone killing team will be several Allied Control Systems truck mounted machine guns. This turreted system can turn M2, M230, M240, or M134 machine guns into effective autonomous close-in counter drone weapons, capable of engaging Group 1 to Group 3 drones. For example, in the M240-armed variant, the gun’s effective engagement range is 800 meters, which should provide the unit with a highly economical way of dealing with most low flying enemy drones.
(4) A special sound detection vehicle should be attached to our anti-drone units. Years ago, we had one of these mounted on a M-113 that was designed to detect enemy helicopters. We should reactivate this system and modify it to detect drones.
(5) Lastly, force security would be provided by an attached light infantry platoon riding Eitan APCs equipped with either 20mm or 30mm canons.
It’s highly likely that Al-Arjani will retaliate by sending kamikaze drones to attack our teams. Should this occur, additional anti-drone vehicles can be attached to our units to augment their defensive capabilities.
Yet another system we should employ to provide a defense in depth against “leakers” that have evaded our forward defense line, involves armed drones patrolling at an altitude of 5km. Equipped with interceptor rockets, these drones will fly patterns that will provide a comprehensive aerial “wall” further back from our border with Sinai.
Two somewhat controversial suggestions that may contribute to improving our anti-drone line involve targeting Al-Arjani himself and/or the Israeli Tarhabin Bedouin tribe.
As far as going after Al-Arjani, there are two ways we could do this. One involves simply assassinating him. Although this would solve the problem rather decisively, it would probably cause serious blowback from the Egyptian government. A better way of addressing this issue, might involve asking the Americans to impose financial sanctions against him for drug and other criminal offenses. I think going after his money rather than his life might be safer than blowing him to pieces in Cairo. The Americans could also quietly inform Sisi that in exchange for shutting down Arjani’s cross border drone shipments, they would refrain from sanctioning his son and other Egyptian generals for being co-conspirators.
As far as the Israeli Tarhabin tribe is concerned, I really feel that we should hammer them. This would involve an operation that searches their encampments with dogs trained to find drugs and ammunition. If any are found in the possession of a family member, his entire family would be stripped of their Israeli citizenship and deported. And if the Taharbin’s criminal activity continued, we should consider placing them in a desert prison designed to cut them off with contact with the world. Total expulsion of the tribe should also be on the table.