Thailand Takes Delivery of Israeli ARBEL Anti-Drone Rifle System

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) has announced that it delivered its ARBEL Anti-Drone System (ADS) to Thailand's Defense Ministry. The handover comes as Thailand approved a $104.4 million emergency defense fund to buy military equipment and strengthen defenses along the Cambodian border.

According to the company, Thai forces have already fitted the platform to their existing rifles, after troops were trained on site by company officials.

IWI spent close to a decade designing the fire control technology, which turns standard infantry rifles into precision-guided interceptors. SK Group vice chairman Ronen Hamudot said small tactical drones have become a direct and growing threat to soldiers. He said the ARBEL ADS was built to give troops an effective way to defend themselves while offering armed forces a critical tactical advantage in an increasingly complex battlespace.

The system can be built into the AR-15 platform, as well as IWI's ARAD assault rifles and Negev machine guns. Soldiers can engage threats, including airborne ones, with their existing weapons, optics and ammunition, and no additional gear is needed. Depending on the firing mode, it can hit targets up to 450 meters away using standard 5.56 mm ammunition.

Electronic sensors and gyros simplify the shooting cycle after the first shot, allowing effective engagement within a window of several seconds, which is typical of real combat. IWI says the system raises the hit probability against static and moving threats by two to three times. It also compensates for shooting errors common in combat, such as those caused by heavy breathing, fatigue and stress, the company told Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post.

On the A-15 the system fits into the lower receiver, while on the Negev it is mounted as an external unit on the grip. It adds only 900 grams to the weapon and meets MIL-STD-810 military standards for reliability in extreme conditions. It runs on batteries for up to 50 hours of continuous operation, works with any optic and can be configured by mission. Its built-in fire control releases rounds once the shooter is stable on the target, depending on the scenario.

IWI said Thailand's choice to add the system to existing rifles lets militaries upgrade current platforms locally without replacing their rifle inventories or buying entirely new weapons. SK Group vice president Doron Korol, who oversees the Asia-Pacific region, said Thailand's adoption reflects a growing emphasis on counter-drone capabilities among Southeast Asian militaries, with rising demand across the region.

Thai military officials are reportedly in talks with IWI about a further order, and several other countries are at various stages of procurement. The company expects to announce more deployments in the coming months.

Earlier in October, local media reported that Bangkok approved emergency funding to repair combat-damaged equipment and buy new weapons. These include long-range Rampage standoff missiles made by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, bunker-buster bombs and upgrades to HIMARS artillery. The Nation reported that the Royal Thai Air Force plan includes 20 Rampage missiles worth about $30 million (1.04 billion baht) for its F-16 aircraft, along with Elbit's MPR-500 penetrating bombs and Lizard III laser guidance kits.

Under the same modernization plan, the Royal Thai Army will buy HIMARS and M777 howitzers to replace older artillery, as well as Stryker armored vehicles. Thailand has acquired Israeli defense technology since the 1970s, and ties have deepened through knowledge transfers that allow certain weapons systems to be produced locally.