Defense News: IDF Deploys New Drone Interception System as Hezbollah Expands FPV Threat

 IDF Deploys New Drone Interception System as Hezbollah Expands FPV Threat

Net-based autonomous interceptor tested amid Hezbollah’s growing use of fiber-optic FPV drones and intelligence warnings of an evolving low-cost aerial warfare campaign.

By Mandi Kogosowski, israeldefense.co, 04/05/2026

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/68844

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun deploying a new autonomous counter-drone system in southern Lebanon designed to intercept Hezbollah’s growing use of fiber-optic FPV explosive drones, according to Israeli media reports.

According to Ynet, the system, known as the Iron Drone Raider, is currently being used on a trial basis and has so far not demonstrated significant operational success. IDF sources cited by the outlet said the system had previously been tested about a year ago but did not achieve reliable detection performance.

Haaretz reported that the system, developed by Aerobotics (a subsidiary of Ondas Holdings), integrates radar-based detection with autonomous interceptor drones. Once a hostile drone is identified, an interceptor launches from a ground pod, tracks the target using radar and computer vision, and either follows it or deploys a net to physically capture it. The captured drone is then lowered by parachute to reduce the risk of detonation.

The system is designed specifically to counter fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones, which are increasingly used because they are resistant to electronic warfare jamming. However, IDF sources cited by Haaretz acknowledged that Israel was not fully prepared for the scale of Hezbollah’s drone campaign, noting that existing systems “do not provide a comprehensive solution” and are not available in sufficient quantities.

The deployment comes amid continued casualties from Hezbollah drone attacks, including recent incidents in which two soldiers and a Defense Ministry contractor were killed and more than 15 others wounded. The drones are also increasingly assessed to be used for psychological impact, exploiting gaps in current air defense coverage.

Alongside the operational deployment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that he had ordered the establishment of a “special project” to counter the drone threat. “It will take time, but we are on it,” he said.

Netanyahu also announced that Israel plans to invest approximately 350 billion NIS (around $100–120 billion) over the next decade in domestic defense production and military capabilities, including advanced aerial systems and munitions development.

A separate assessment by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center provides broader context for the escalation, describing a significant expansion in Hezbollah’s use of FPV drones since March 2026. According to the report, fiber-optic FPV systems – capable of precise strikes over long distances and resistant to electronic jamming – have become a central component of Hezbollah’s battlefield doctrine.

The assessment notes that Hezbollah initially employed FPV drones in limited form during the 2023–2024 conflict with Israel, primarily targeting IDF outposts and surveillance infrastructure along the border. However, since renewed escalation, the group has carried out dozens of attacks using these systems, particularly against IDF positions in southern Lebanon.

The report further highlights Hezbollah’s decentralized production model, with workshops in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley assembling drones from commercial components at low cost, alongside smuggled shipments in the thousands. It also points to growing Iranian-linked knowledge transfer and battlefield learning from conflicts in Syria and the Russia–Ukraine war.

Beyond their tactical role, the report emphasizes the integration of FPV drone attacks into Hezbollah’s psychological warfare strategy, including amplification of Israeli media coverage to reinforce perceptions of vulnerability and technological erosion.

According to the assessment, Hezbollah has also developed fiber-optic variants capable of penetrating up to 15 kilometers into Israeli territory, suggesting continued expansion of both range and sophistication.

Iron Drone Raider System

Check out https://www.airoboticsdrones.com/iron-drone/ for more details on the system

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Defense News: IDF uses Ro'em self-propelled howitzer artillery for first time in southern Lebanon

 IDF uses Ro'em self-propelled howitzer artillery for first time in southern Lebanon

The firing was declared an operational success and even served as a basis for developing new artillery fire responses while fighting, the military wrote in a press release.

By Jerusalem Post Staff, April 17, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-893333

IDF operates its domestically produced Ro'em self-propelled howitzer for the first time in southern Lebanon in April 2026.(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The IDF has operated its domestically produced Ro'em self-propelled howitzer for the first time, using it in an operation in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Thursday. 

The Ro'em was used to fire at several Hezbollah anti-tank targets, which posed a threat to IDF forces. The firing was declared an operational success and even served as a basis for developing new artillery fire responses while fighting, the military wrote in a press release.

"This is a historic event," Lt. Col. B., head of the Ro'em branch in the IDF, said. "This translates to one thing: more firepower in less time, exposure, and risk to forces on the ground."

The Ro'em can be fired at a much higher rate than existing systems, at longer ranges, and even along multiple trajectories so that different shells hit the target simultaneously.

"It offers mobility, full automation, and the ability to operate as part of a maneuver deep into enemy territory. It shoots farther and more accurately, making it a true breakthrough," B said. 

Greater rate of fire with fewer crew

The system features a fully automated turret, capable of handling ammunition selection, loading, gun laying, and firing without manual intervention. This automation reduces the crew to just three soldiers, a dramatic improvement over the seven-person crew required for the M109.

Its reduced crew size helps address IDF concerns, including manpower challenges such as injuries, and its high degree of automation allows for more flexible staffing. 

The Ro’em is designed to operate as part of a fully networked battlefield, receiving fire missions directly from command-and-control systems and coordinating with sensors, drones, and other artillery units.

This connectivity shortens the sensor-to-shooter cycle and allows the IDF to deliver precise, timely fire support with minimal delay. The system’s automation also enables extremely fast shoot-and-scoot tactics, reducing exposure to enemy counter-battery fire.

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Space News: Water on Mars? Scientists discover 'bathtub ring' which may reveal contours of ancient ocean

Water on Mars? Scientists discover 'bathtub ring' which may reveal contours of ancient ocean

Like Earth and the solar system's other planets, Mars formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago. Early in its history, Mars was warmer and wetter than the cold and arid place it is today.

By Reuters, April 16, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/science/space/article-893174

A "selfie" taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, made up of 62 individual images, on July 23, in this image released on September 10, 2025.  (photo credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

There is a lot of evidence from orbiting satellites and surface rovers indicating that liquid water was present long ago on the surface of Mars in the form of ponds, lakes, and rivers. But the idea that Mars once had a huge and long-lived ocean on its northern plains has remained a matter of debate.

Scientists have now detected what might be the contours of this putative ocean on Earth's planetary neighbor, using data collected by a NASA probe that orbited Mars for a decade. Their research indicates the presence of the Martian equivalent of the continental shelf that defines the boundaries of Earth's oceans.

They compared it to a huge "bathtub ring" showing where water may have once met land on Mars. Because Mars does not possess continents and lacks the geological process called plate tectonics that led to the formation of Earth's continents, the researchers are calling the Martian landforms a coastal shelf.

Like Earth and the solar system's other planets, Mars formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago. Early in its history, Mars was warmer and wetter than the cold and arid place it is today.

"The Martian ocean could have existed when the planet had an active hydrological cycle, with flowing rivers and lakes, nearly 3.7 billion years ago, and it likely disappeared as the planet became dry. Exactly where the water went remains highly debated," said University of Texas planetary scientist Abdallah Zaki, lead author of the research published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Mars landscape. (credit: NASA)

A coastal shelf could have formed on Mars over millions of years due to rivers dumping sand and mud into an ocean, waves spreading those sediments around, and the sea level rising and falling over time. Looking from above, the sedimentary rock making up this shelf might superficially resemble the ring that remains after a bathtub has been drained.

What is a 'bathtub ring?'

"A 'bathtub ring' on Mars means that if an ocean filled the northern lowlands, it may have left behind a shoreline, or shelf-like boundary, marking the water level," Zaki said.

"If we sent a rover, we would expect to see sedimentary rocks and structures similar to those found on Earth's continental shelves, including layering, sloping surfaces called clinoforms, and textures produced by waves and currents," Zaki said.

The researchers examined topographical data for Mars that was obtained by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and identified a band suggestive of oceanic contours. Previous research has indicated that this hypothesized ocean in the Martian northern hemisphere covered approximately a third of the planet's surface, equivalent to about 13% of the total area of Earth's oceans.

The study builds on earlier evidence of a bygone Martian ocean, including studies identifying features resembling an ancient shoreline. Ground-penetrating radar data obtained by China's Zhurong rover, described in a study published last year, detected evidence suggesting sandy beaches from a Martian shoreline now buried underground.

Scientists have also identified multiple landforms that appear to be remnants of ancient river deltas, where rivers may have flowed into a larger body of water.

"The northern ocean on Mars, if it existed, dried up a long time ago, and there have been billions of years of volcanic activity and wind abrasion on Mars, so interpreting ancient landforms is not straightforward," Caltech planetary scientist and study senior author Michael Lamb said.

"Nonetheless, our study shows some telltale signs of a coastal shelf. And the shelf occurs in the same zone as the deformed shorelines and where scientists have previously mapped river deltas and other landforms and deposits characteristic of a land-ocean transition," Lamb said.

Taken together, Lamb said, the evidence points toward a long-lived ancient ocean.

"This means that Mars once looked much more like the Earth than it does today," Lamb said.

The existence of an ocean would be an important factor in understanding whether Mars was ever able to give rise to life.

"If Mars once had an ocean covering roughly one third of the planet over geologic timescales, that would suggest that a large part of its surface had sustained water, which is a key ingredient for habitability," Zaki said.

"That does not mean Mars was inhabited, but it does suggest that potentially habitable environments may have been more widespread and longer-lived than if water had only existed briefly or locally," Zaki said.

 

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Archaeology News: Native American use of dice, probability predates known Old World dice by millenia - study

 Native American use of dice, probability predates known Old World dice by millenia - study

In total, archaeologist Robert Madden observed 659 sets of Native American dice from 57 archaeological sites across 12 different states.

By Miriam Sela-Etam, Jerusalem Post, April 10, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-892527

A series of Native American dice discovered at archaeological sites in the western US, April 9, 2026.

(photo credit: Robert J Madden, 2026/Published by Cambridge University Press)

Native Americans were making dice and using probabilty theory at least 12,000 years ago, making them the world's oldest evidence of gambling, according to a new study published in American Antiquity.

In total, archaeologist Robert Madden observed 659 sets of Native American dice from 57 archaeological sites across 12 different states. 

Out of those, he found 565 “diagnostic” examples of Native American dice and 94 “probable” examples of dice, all from the “precontact periods (Late Pleistocene / Early Holocene, Middle Holocene, and Late Holocene), spanning roughly 13,000 years of North American prehistory.”

His analysis is based on the markers presented in Stewart Culin's 1907 Games of the North American Indians, a catalogue of nearly 300 sets of dice used by Indigenous peoples across the continent.

The three oldest sets of dice found, dating to nearly 12,900 years ago, were from Folsom culture sites in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, the study explained, noting that they also predate the “earliest currently known dice in the Old World by millennia.”

A series of Native American dice discovered at archaeological sites in the western US, April 9, 2026. (credit: Robert J Madden, 2026/Published by Cambridge University Press)

In addition, the findings indicate that Native American groups were some of the first to use probability theory, which was later formally developed by European mathematicians in the 1600s, most likely based on dice games.

“This is the first evidence we have of structured human engagement with the concepts of chance and randomness,” Madden said to Live Science. "We're seeing really complex practices and an intellectual accomplishment here.”

“The dice tend to show up in liminal spaces where you have a lot of high mobility. It might have something to do with how separated these people are and the need to relate to people you don't see very often.”

Purpose of dice games

Further, the study presented several suggestions for the purpose of these games within Indigenous communities.

While there is not much physical evidence, the study noted that there are numerous cultural accounts of Native American traditions portraying dice games as a sacred activity, played during both ceremonial and secular events.

Additionally, the study argued that dice and gambling may have been created as an icebreaker to play with strangers who would have otherwise had no framework for interaction.

While trade usually depended on an existing relationship, dice games created a temporary, rule-governed space for the exchange goods, information or creating connection.

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Science News: Researchers find traces of caffeine, cocaine in sharks in The Bahamas

Researchers find traces of caffeine, cocaine in sharks in The Bahamas

The researchers said this is the first report of caffeine and acetaminophen in any shark species worldwide, and the first report of diclofenac and cocaine in sharks from The Bahamas

By Jerusalem Post Staff, April 8, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-892367

(One more cup of coffee? photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

Sharks in The Bahamas tested positive for multiple contaminants linked to human activity, according to NBC News. The study, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, documented cocaine, caffeine, and painkillers acetaminophen, and diclofenac in tissue samples from 85 sharks. 

According to the study, the proliferation of vacation homes and rental properties has “significantly increased the volume and chemical complexity of local wastewater.”

The research, titled “Drugs in Paradise: Caffeine and Cocaine Detected in Bahamas Sharks,” analyzed five different types of sharks. Most samples came from waters near tourist areas, including sites near Eleuthera.

The researchers said this is the first report of caffeine and acetaminophen in any shark species worldwide, and the first report of diclofenac and cocaine in sharks from The Bahamas. They described the region as “an environment commonly described as pristine.”

Brazilian sharks

Investigators reported altered triglyceride, urea, and lactate levels in sharks with detected contaminants compared to those without. The repeated identification of caffeine as the most prevalent detection suggests that widely consumed compounds can become persistent markers of human influence in the ocean.

The findings align with broader evidence that wastewater tied to urban development, tourism, and vacation homes is entering coastal waters. In 2024, more than 10 sharks in waters off Brazil tested positive for cocaine. Researchers noted that contamination patterns vary by location but are consistent with coastal areas receiving inputs associated with human presence and infrastructure.

These Sharks are EVERYWHERE in the Bahamas!

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