Ethiopia. SkyWall. The American anti drone bazooka. A serious threat to Ethiopia and Eritrea
The internalization of the Ethiopian Civil War does not have the only consequence of prolonging the conflict and violence against civilians. The various world powers that support Eritrea, the fascist Amhara regime or the democratic forces (TPLF, OLA) are taking advantage of it to promote or test new deadly weapons.
After the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2, the United States is now preparing to test the British-made prototype SkyWall anti-drone bazooka. This weapon has already been tested by the Pentagon in September in Arizona and in October in Italy and now the Ethiopian conflict offers an excellent opportunity to test it in a real war context. The SkyWalls will soon be provided to the TPLF and OLA according to well-informed diplomatic sources.
Democratic forces are in serious trouble after the defeats suffered in the Amhara and Afar regions which forced the TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army to desist from the liberation of Addis Ababa and to retreat to defensive positions in Tigray and Oromia. At the moment, the efforts of the Eritrean army, supported by what remains of Ethiopian federal army ENDF and the Ethiopian militias, are focused on Tigray.
After strengthening its presence in southern Tigray (annexed to the Amhara region) and eastern Tigray (annexed to Eritrea), the Eritrean army stopped the military offensive much to the chagrin of Warlord Abiy Ahmed Ali. The decision not to engage Eritrean army in the total destruction of the Tigrinya enemy responds to a plan of the Eritrean dictator Isaias Afwerki to maintain a permanent state of civil war in Ethiopia.
Afwerki decision created a profound rupture between the Amhara nationalists, Premier Abiy and the Eritrean ally. The Amhara leadership despite having benefited from the territories of South Tigray is accusing Abiy and Afwerki of having betrayed the Ethiopian nationalist cause by not destroying the Tigray Defences Forces despite the evident advantage of their moment of extreme vulnerability. Diplomatic sources report that dictator Afwerki has also given up on engaging his army to recapture Oromia where the OLA maintains the liberated areas and poses a serious political and military threat to the Addis Ababa regime.
The military defeat suffered by the TPLF and OLA when they were a few tens of kilometres from Addis Ababa is due to the combination of the full combat engagement on the ground of the Eritrean army (about 120,000 soldiers) and the deadly aerial strikes of Turkish, UAE, Chinese and Iranian drones. Diplomatic sources inform of the presence of Turkish mercenaries who are added to those paid by the Arab Emirates to remotely conduct drone air raids.
Despite the abortive offensive, the Ethiopian federal air force continues terrorist air strike campaign in Tigray, targeting the still functioning infrastructures and cities. Even on Christmas day, the Tigray region was the victim of several air strikes which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians.
Both TDF and OLA General Staff, are aware that as long as the enemy has aerial supremacy using drones, classic military campaigns will not be possible. Only guerrilla tactics. A serious impediment as the democratic forces are aiming at the liberation of the territories and the conquest of Addis Ababa to overthrow the regime in force. TDF and OLA are now looking for Anti drone weapons.
There are various experimental anti-drone weapons that are based on the shooting down of the aircraft using classic explosives or lasers, “direct energy weapons”. Other anti-drone weapons are based on cyber or electrical attacks emitted to the ground via radio frequency waves capable of disconnecting the remote control of the drone or its satellite connection. All of these weapons are bulky and installed on moving platforms (usually trucks) which turn them into a target for enemy air forces.
In 2018, the British firm OpenWorks Engineering invented the SkyWall, a weapon destined to revolutionize anti-drone air defence. The SkyWall is a smart shoulder-mounted anti-drone bazooka that assists its operator in targeting and neutralizing drones. The operator identifies the target using the intelligent oscilloscope. The aiming system then calculates a shooting solution based on the distance, speed and direction of the target. Once optimal aim is acquired, the weapon fires its shot at the target.
The bullet used is a 40 mm mesh grenade, normally used in the weapon systems of the Mk19 and M320 grenade launchers. The use of the anti-drone bazooka is very simple. Once the satellite connection has been set up, the operator aims at the drone and fires the mesh grenade that detonates a charge at a distance of six or nine meters from the target by throwing a grenade that blocks the drone and its contact remotely, neutralizing it.
The net can also be equipped with a small parachute that helps bring the drone to the ground safely. The parachute function ensures that the drones don’t just crash to the ground, which would be dangerous in crowded places, but glide smoothly. Once landed and recovered intact, the drone will provide useful information or can be reprogrammed for offensive military use. The SkyWall bazooka is designed to be operated by one person and requires a fast reload time that allows it to take on multiple targets.
The SkyWall is equipped with kinetic components from the German police GUARDION aerial defence system. The GUARDION system detects, tracks and computer-neutralizes drones. SkyWall’s accuracy is based on a laser powered “SmartScope”, that allows the computer installed in the bazooka to calculate exactly the right moment to fire the bullet. The bullet itself maintains constant communication with the bazooka and doesn’t launch the net until it’s close enough to the drone.
“The smart bullet isn’t just a bullet with a net. The SmartScope in the launcher constantly updates the projectile as it tracks the target. Once in the air, the bullet counts down until it is close to the target, at which point, rather than just “detonating”, it performs a carefully timed sequence of actions to ensure that the net is deployed as it passes the target drone. This means that you don’t have to hit the drone in the nose, you just have to be in the general area around it “. explains OpenWorks technical director Alex Wilkinson
On February 5, 2019, the United States Army acquired the patent for the anti-drone bazooka designed to trap and defeat UAVs. The US Department of Defence has already started testing the SkyWall bazooka last September at the Yuma Providing Ground military base in Arizona, with satisfactory results. The military reported that initial tests of the mesh grenade have been promising as it is easily operated and extremely effective against multiple targets — that is, swarms of drones.
The Pentagon carried out another test last October. The test was carried out in an undisclosed location in Italy with the presence of 55 observers from various Major States of Western powers. The US Army has entrusted the test to Sergeant Kiara Perez, the first woman in the US Army to manage the SkyWall bazooka. “The SkyWall Patrol system aligns with the US Army’s modernization strategy, which focuses on making soldiers and units more lethal in defense against the serious threat posed by drones,” the command said in a press release. for the development of the army’s combat capabilities.
The cost of the SkyWall is in line with the Pentagon’s requirements, because any anti-drone system must at least be affordable enough to allow it to be used on a large scale. The Pentagon’s intention is to include the anti-drone bazooka in the infantry’s normal warfare equipment. The bazooka costs around $ 37,000. As in the case of drones, the real business deal lies in the ammunition. A single mesh grenade is priced at $ 15,000.
The SkyWall is part of the Pentagon Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems project (defence systems against small unmanned aircraft) strictly regulated by the government military program: “Low-Cost Ground-Based Aerial Denial and Handheld (or Dismount) Solutions”, low cost ground air defense solutions and portable or uninstall solutions.
The Ethiopian Civil War is an excellent testing ground for this anti-drone weapon intended for light infantry. After the brilliant tests in Arizona and Italy, the Pentagon can test the effectiveness of the weapon in a real theatre of war, simply by supplying the SkyWall to the TPLF and the OLA. The ease of use of this weapon makes it possible to use it by ordinary soldiers without particular technological and cybernetic knowledge.
“The SkyWall anti-drone bazooka represents an absolute revolution in the defence against aerial attacks by drones. It has the same importance and impact as the American Stinger portable rocket launcher which turned the tide of the conflict in Afghanistan in 1986 by destroying the air offensive capability of the Red Army. It was obvious that Ethiopia represented the best theatre of war can give an unique first-hand experience the effectiveness of this new defence weapon. Currently, the Ethiopian conflict is subject to widespread use of combat drones, much greater than that in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. SkyWall bazookas are already present at the US military base in Djibouti. You just have to get them to the TPLF and the OLA through the Egyptian and Sudanese allies.”, Explains a Ugandan military expert protected by anonymity.
The Tigrinya defence forces have shown on several occasions (since the military occupation of Tigray) that they are able to stand up to Eritrean troops. The current strength of the fascist Amhara regime is the combination of experienced ground troops and drones. The aerial coverage of drones lies at the basis of the military strategy implemented to obtain the recent victories in Amhara and Afar. The use of a portable anti-drone weapon by enemy light infantry can seriously compromise this strategy.
The SkyWall can be used by anyone with short training. This allows its supply even to small infantry units (from 3 to 12 men) that are hardly local noticeable. A serious and exhaustive supply of these Bazookas would put the TPLF and the OLA in a position to counter the drones, neutralizing the weapon on which the Ethiopian defence is calibrated.
To obtain this result, the convergence of two extremely important X factors is required. The US satellite cyber assistance and the delivery of these weapons and related mesh grenade ammunition.
For the first factor it seems that there are no problems. For some time, the United States has lined up against Abiy and his mentor: Isaias Afwerki. Satellite cyber assistance is guaranteed for two reasons. The first is part of the political and military support offered to Ethiopian democratic forces. The second concerns an economic / commercial convenience. Assistance must be guaranteed, otherwise how can the effectiveness of the SkyWall be tested in a real theatres of war?
It is on the possibility of the TPLF and OLA to receive these weapons that the experts are divided. A first current, including Pakistani freelance reporter Sajid Nadeem (@ sajid_nadeem78), argues that there is no possibility of getting these weapons into Tigray. Ethiopia has returned to the situation of May 2021 with Tigray completely surrounded by Ethiopian militias and the Eritrean army. The corridor with Sudan would also be closed. Nothing can enter or leave Tigray without the permission of the Eritreans and Amhara militiamen.
The second current is less certain of the infallibility of the enemy forces to control the borders. The previous siege did not prevent the supply of war material from Sudan. A refuelling that allowed TPLF to launch two large-scale offensives in Amhara and Afar, threatening Addis Ababa. The weapons came from Sudan through clandestine caravans of nomads who normally cross the borders of the two countries. Heavy weapons were disassembled, delivered in pieces and reassembled in Tigray. The OLA also has its own secure supply channels.
If the Pentagon starts testing the SkyWall in the Ethiopian theatre of war, it will be a major blow to Addis Ababa and Asmara. Even the Turkish Grand Vizier, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, would lose his reputation but, above all, he will in deep financial problems, given that he owns the factory of the famous Turkish drones. An “innocent” family business.
