📰 Hezbollah’s Fibre Optic Drones Breach Israel’s Radar Systems, Reshaping Battlefield
In the skies over the Lebanese town of Taybeh, Israel’s multi-billion-dollar defence systems were rendered useless by a spool of cable, according to Al Jazeera’s report citing the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth (Ynet).
As an Israeli medical evacuation helicopter rushed to rescue soldiers wounded in a drone attack, another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hurtled towards them. With their electronic countermeasures failing, soldiers on the ground were forced to point their rifles at the sky, firing at the incoming threat before it detonated just metres away.
The chaotic scene underscores a lethal new reality in the escalating conflict. Hezbollah has introduced a new weapon to the battlefield: first-person view (FPV) attack drones guided by a physical fibre optic cable.
Unlike traditional drones that rely on radio frequencies or satellite signals, these modified aircraft are tethered directly to the operator’s control station by a fibre optic thread. The cable can extend between 10 and 30 kilometres, allowing the drone to reach distant targets.
Because there is no wireless signal to intercept, the drones are immune to Israel’s sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) jamming systems. Furthermore, the aircraft are constructed from lightweight fibreglass, meaning they emit almost no thermal or radar signature.
Hassan Jouni, a military analyst, noted that this renders traditional early-warning systems blind. The drones have even managed to bypass the “Trophy” active protection system installed on Israeli Merkava tanks, which is designed to detect and intercept incoming projectiles.
Military experts say this low-cost, highly stealthy drone technology is reshaping the dynamics of modern warfare. Traditional electronic warfare advantages and expensive defence systems appear inadequate against this new class of threat.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Yedioth Ahronoth