(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — In an incident that Israeli media have described as highly embarrassing for the nation and its military, Hezbollah released a 9-minute and 31-second video captured by its drone, displaying various sensitive security locations within Israel.
The drone broadcasted its footage live, astonishingly showcasing its ability to not only enter Israeli airspace but to freely navigate throughout the country, recording multiple strategic defense positions.
These included sites of the Iron Dome air defense system and naval bases in Haifa.
The drone’s ability to roam and filmed sensitive spots in Israel without threat from the vaunted air defense systems—often proclaimed by supporters as among the best in the world—raises questions about the purported impenetrability of Israeli airspace.
This airspace, claimed to be robust and “unbreachable” due to the protection of the Iron Dome, David Sling, and ultimately Arrow systems, is also monitored by various high-capability radars and other high tech sensors that were thought nearly impossible for enemies to bypass.
The U.S. also stations powerful radars at a location known as “Site 52” to safeguard Israeli airspace.
The Hezbollah drone’s actions have shattered the perceived “invincibility” of Israel’s defense system.
Apart from the Iron Dome locations, the drone also captured video of the David Sling air defense sites, Saar-class corvettes at their base in Haifa Port, and an airbase hosting various Israeli Air Force combat aircraft in Haifa.
Additionally, the drone filmed Israeli oil and chemical storage centers, dams, and various military bases.
Observers describe Hezbollah’s successful infiltration and recording of various sensitive military and civilian sites in Israel without detection as a “warning” to the Israeli military, which has recently threatened to attack Lebanon and revert it to the “stone age” if war were to break out.
The drone’s undetected presence in Israeli airspace begs the question of whether it will be Hezbollah or Israel that could be pushed back to the “stone age” should hostilities commence.
During over eight months of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, the Iran-backed militia has demonstrated its capability to counter all types of Israeli military assaults.
Throughout this period, Hezbollah fighters have successfully destroyed various Israeli radar and sensors complexes along the Israel-Lebanon border, leaving the Israeli forces comparably “deaf and blind.”
One notable target has been the Meron Military Base located at the peak of Mount Jarmak, considered one of the most critical military sites by observers, where senior military leaders frequently convene.
Operated by the 11th Battalion 506 of the Israeli Air Force, this base serves as the only air management, surveillance, and control center in northern Israel, with no alternative, according to the militia group.
The Meron base has been attacked several times by Hezbollah fighters, causing significant damage to sensitive equipment and high-powered radars. — DSA