TEL AVIV — Israel has destroyed a Hizbullah unmanned aerial vehicle
that entered the nation's air space.
Officials said the UAV was manufactured and supplied by Iran. They said
the platform was launched on Monday from the Lebanese city of Tyre and flew
along the Israeli coast, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The Israeli Air Force's northern aerial monitoring unit identified an
unmanned Hizbullah drone approaching the Israeli-Lebanese border," a
military statement said. "Aircraft were sent to intercept the drone and
shoot it down at low altitude above the sea, in Israeli territorial waters.
Navy forces later collected the remains of the drone."
This was the first time Israel has destroyed a Hizbullah UAV. Since
November 2004, Hizbullah sent two Mirsad-1 UAVs on reconnaissance missions
into Israeli air space.
Officials said Israel Air Force F-16s operated along the Mediterranean
coast to search for additional Hizbullah UAVs. No other unmanned platforms
were found.
"It was not clear what the target of the UAV was," an official said.
Hizbullah has received eight attack Ababil UAVs with a conventional
explosives payload. The UAV, guided by a Global Positioning System, was said
to have a range of 150 kilometers and a 40-kilogram weapons payload.
Over the last few weeks, the air force has moved anti-aircraft
batteries, including the PAC-2, to target and destroy Hizbullah UAVs.
Officials said the UAV was regarded as as unnamed strategic surprise pledged
by Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah.
