The Israeli Defense Forces on Sunday released footage of the Iron Sting system firing a mortar bomb to knock out a rocket launcher in its first use in an operation.
The Iron Sting, described as an “innovative and precise mortar bomb,” is one of several weapons used to fend off dozens of terrorists, the Israeli Air Force published on X along with a video showing the 120mm mortar at decimating an enemy showed rocket launchers. The Israeli army used the weapon system in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force.
The weapon system uses “precise, laser- and GPS-guided mortar munitions” to attack targets in dense urban environments while “reducing the possibility of collateral damage and preventing injury to non-combatants,” said Elbit Systems, which is developing the system has a press release for 2021.
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“Its operational use will revolutionize ground warfare and equip battalions with organic, precise and effective firepower,” the press release said.
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Testing of the weapon system was completed in March 2021.
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“[The Iron Sting] “also meets the needs of the IDF by adapting combat capabilities to combat with enemies hidden in civilian, urban environments, while meeting the legal and moral standards set by the State of Israel,” then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in the Press release.
Smoke rises from southern Israel on Wednesday after an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, Israeli forces carried out thousands of airstrikes in Gaza and the West Bank.
A series of rocket launches by Hamas and Islamic Jihad have resulted in the deaths of several civilians in Gaza: IDF
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More than 1,400 people have been killed in the war in Israel – most of them civilians killed during the Hamas attack. More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Palestinians search for survivors of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
While the IDF has made clear preparations for a possible ground attack on Gaza, they have yet to move forward.
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An Israeli ground attack would likely result in a dramatic escalation of casualties on both sides in urban fighting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.