Drone Wars - Israeli Air Force Vs. Iran

The Israeli Air Force shot down a drone aircraft yesterday that penetrated deep into Israeli air space.

The drone originated in Lebanon, but flew over the Mediterranean and then backtracked to give the appearance it was coming via Gaza.

It then proceeded into Israeli air space over the IDF’s southern bases, the city of Beersheba and the IAF base at Nevatim before it was shot down over the Yatir forest south of Mt. Hebron.

Its mission was certainly to test Israel's response and may very well have been to record the electronic 'signatures' of Israel's air defense systems for its Dimona nuclear reactor and the American X-band radar station in the Negev. The drone unfortunately managed to sty airborne and transmitting for almost a half hour before IAF pilots scrambled and shot it down.

While the drone was spotted promptly, my sources tell me there was an unfortunate glitch between the drone being spotted and actual orders being given to take it out that allowed the drone to stay airborne far longer than it should have. From what I've managed to hear, a few reprimands went out and certain steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence. The drone could very well have been carrying explosives.

Contrary to what you see above, the drone didn't disintegrate into a fireball but yielded a number of fragments that were quite valuable in determining the drone's technology, navigation system and Iranian origin.

It was almost certainly launched by Hezbollah, probably with Iranian technicians handling the actual mechanics.

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s ground forces said just a couple of weeks ago that Iran was preparing to carry out preemptive operations against the US and Israel.

This could very well have been an opening gambit.