Israel’s security establishment has decided to return the decades-old M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon system to active duty. Originally developed for use against aircraft, the Vulcan has not been operational in the Israel Defense Forces for 20 years.
Now, it’s making a comeback as part of efforts to counter the growing threat posed by drones, particularly along the Lebanese border.
The Makor Rishon newspaper has learned that three systems have already become operational, and five more are expected to be deployed by August, bringing the total number of active Vulcans in the IDF to eight.
The Vulcan is a six-barreled, air-cooled 20-millimeter Gatling-style rotary cannon. It can fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute. Developed in the United States, the weapon entered service in the Israel Defense Forces in 1975, following lessons from the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Over the years, it was integrated into an air defense system dubbed “Makhbat” (Hebrew for “bat” or “racket”), which included Stinger missiles and advanced surveillance systems. The Vulcan was retired in 2006 after the Second Lebanon War, as more advanced systems like the Iron Dome took precedence.
However, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, which has involved extensive drone and UAV threats across nearly all fronts, the IDF has encountered a challenge that has become common globally: the difficulty of intercepting small, sophisticated drones. In Israel’s case, especially those launched by Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon.
These drones fly at low altitudes, making them hard for air defense systems to detect and intercept. The Iron Dome, for example, is designed primarily for rockets and missiles and is less effective against such targets.
Dozens of these UAVs have breached Israeli airspace, some penetrating dozens of kilometers inland. In some instances, they caused casualties—such as the October 2024 attack on the Golani base near Binyamina, in which four soldiers were killed.
The security establishment has explored several responses: modifying Iron Dome capabilities, deploying fighter jets and helicopters and accelerating development of the “Iron Beam” laser system, which is expected to become operational soon. However, these measures either offer only partial solutions or are too costly to maintain over time.
To bring the Vulcan back online, the IDF retrieved old APCs from dusty warehouses and scrapyards, including from the Hatzerim Museum, and refurbished them.
The project is led by the Tamar company, which carried out repairs and modifications and is also training IDF soldiers in operating the system.
Each Vulcan round contains approximately 70 grams of explosives and is designed to detonate mid-air if it misses its target, to minimize the risk of collateral damage.
The military is currently working to coordinate all its aerial interception systems to achieve optimal efficiency in countering drones. However, a final decision has yet to be made on which IDF unit will operate the Vulcan systems.
“The air force is intensifying its efforts to defend the country’s skies against a range of threats. During the war, the IAF has already integrated and continues to integrate additional capabilities to expand its operational response. For security reasons, we cannot provide details regarding the establishment of combat units or the integration of specific capabilities,” the IDF said.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.