IDF activates new alert system with more warning time for rocket attacks

The system is designed to calculate the threat type, distance, and trajectory to ensure that alerts reached the specific populations in the path of incoming fire.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

The Israel Defense Forces launched a technical upgrade to the national projectile alert network on Tuesday to provide preliminary warnings for rocket and missile fire originating from Lebanon, whenever operational conditions allowed.

Throughout Operation Roaring Lion, the IDF Home Front Command provided preliminary alerts of impending real-time sirens for missile fire from Iran, giving civilians an opportunity to get closer to safe zones before the actual siren rings out.

The latest initiative to provide preliminary alerts for threats from Lebanon is part of an ongoing effort to expand the window of time available
for civilians to reach protected spaces.

The Home Front Command said the early alerts would appear on its cell phone application, as well as the Personal Message Platform utilizing cell broadcast technology, the National Emergency Porta, and Telegram channels.

The warnings will read: “Threat from Lebanon – Move Near a Protected Space.”

The Home Front Command relies on a continuous stream of data from the detection systems of the Israel Air Force to provide the alerts.

The IAF, for its part, utilizes a complex array of sensors and radars to track launches, which then transferred the data to the Home Front Command to trigger the appropriate civilian warnings.

A Western observer told JNS on Thursday that the upgrade appears to rely on improved algorithms that scan and process the sensor information of the threat.

This sophisticated software allows the military to handle a high volume of data from multiple sensors to generate faster and more accurate notifications for civilians.

The system is designed to calculate the threat type, distance, and trajectory to ensure that alerts reached the specific populations in the path of incoming fire.

Israel is divided into some 1,600 alert areas (known in the Home Front Command as “polygons” to increase precision and to minimize unnecessary disruptions to areas not projected to be in the path of the threat.

Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, Home Front Command chief, announced this week, “Out of a deep commitment to civilian safety and improving protective capabilities, we have completed a professional process aimed at providing preliminary alerts for launches from Lebanese territory as well.”

He added, “The purpose of this initiative is to provide the public with additional preparation time prior to receiving an alert.”

In general, the further away a projectile launch threat is, the more time the IDF has to provide early alerts.

In the case of Lebanon, for residents along the northern border line, the system will provide several seconds of warning prior to the sound of sirens.

In the northern region, the lead time has now been extended to approximately one minute, while the rest of the country will receive up to approximately two minutes of preparation time.

Due to the geographic proximity of Lebanon, it will not always be possible to issue a preliminary warning before a siren activated.

Additionally, early warnings not ultimately followed by a siren in that specific area can also occur.

According to a report by Mako from May 23, the defense establishment had already conducted successful testing of preliminary warnings for such launches in southern Israel in April, when the Ashdod area was targeted by Hezbollah fire. The capacity is now being expanded nationwide.