File image.
Hezbollah’s drone unit has managed to target another Iron Dome air defense site of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) using a fiber optic-guided first-person view (FPV) suicide quadcopter.
The quadcopter hit a launcher of the system that was deployed in the Iskenderun area, near the town of Bayada in southern Lebanon. The group released video footage of the strike on May 20, but the attack took place three days earlier. The fully-loaded launcher was hidden behind fortified semantic blocks, but still it was found and targeted.
The Iron Dome was developed mainly to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and shells. The system can also engage more traditional aerial targets, like fighter jets, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles. However, it is completely useless against small drones like quadcopters.
The system has a maximum range of 70 kilometers. A launcher fully loaded with 20 Tamir interceptors could cost well over $1 million.
This is the second time Hezbollah has targeted an Iron Dome site of the IDF using FPV suicide quadcopter in the current round of fighting — which began with the start of the American-Israeli war on Iran, and didn’t full stop even after a ceasefire brokered by the United states came into effect last month.
The first attack, which took place on May 7 and 8, targeted a launcher deployed near the IDF’s Jal al-Alam site in northern Israel. Fiber optic-guided FPV suicide quadcopters were also used back then.
Some military analysts believe that in both cases what was hit by Hezbollah was decoys. While launchers did lack some parts, they did appear to have some other clear details.
In any case, the strikes demonstrate the game changing capabilities which FPV suicided quadcopters have granted to Hezbollah.
These drones are not super accurate, highly maneuverable, and difficult to detect. They are also completely immune to electronic warfare means, and could have a range exceeding 20 kilometers. All of these qualities make them a useful weapon for suppression of enemy air defenses in a battlefield as narrow as that of southern Lebanon.
The IDF is said to be working on a solution to the threat, but defense officials have cautioned that a system to counter quadcopter will not come soon, and will not provide complete protection.
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