UAVsHezbollah drone represents changing technological landscape for Israel
Israel’s air defenses worked just fine in handling the drone launched by Hezbollah last week: the drone was picked up by Israeli surveillance as it was launched from southern Lebanon, then tracked as it flew south over the Mediterranean; it was allowed to enter Israeli air space so that after it was shot down, its remains could be collected and analyzed; still, the incident made many Israelis sit up and take notice; Israel, a country which has pioneered the use of UAVs as an integral part of military operations and which has held a monopoly on operating drones in the region, was forced to realize that is adversaries, too, now had access to the technology
When an Iranian-built drone, operated by Hezbollah, flew along Israel’s coastline and penetrated deep into the country last week, Israel wasted no time lining up its defenses. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) quickly deployed U.S.-made and Israeli-operated Patriot anti-aircraft batteries in Northern Israel in an effort to shore up defenses. When another unidentified aircraft was spotted a couple of days later, the government closed the country’s airspace, grounding commercial flights and scrambling fighter jets.
In fact, Israel’s surveillance and air defense systems worked just fine. IDF monitoring picked up the drone as it was launched from southern Lebanon, then tracked it as it flew south over the Mediterranean, then turned east over the Gaza Strip and entered Israeli air space. The Israel Air Force (IAF) could have shot down the drone anytime during its flight, but the idea was to let it fly into Israel so that its remains could be collected and analyzed after it was shot down.
Still, even though the incident was not an indication of a military failure, the drone did make many Israelis sit up and take notice. The Alaska Dispatch reports that Israel, a country which has pioneered the use of UAVs as an integral part of military operations and which held a monopoly on operating drones in the region, was forced to realize that is adversaries, too, now had access to the technology.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah took responsibility for the drone and announced that this was just the first of many trips they plan to make. “It wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last time,” he said.
Hezbollah has several Iran-built UAVsin its arsenal, some of which are designed to carry bombs.During the summer 2006 war between Israeli and Hezbollah, the organizations launched two suicide UAVs to explode over Tel Aviv. One of them was shot down by the IAF, and the second exploded during launch.
Israeli military planners believe it is only a matter of time before Hamas in the Gaza Strip will have drones at its disposal.
Alon Unger, CEO of Op-Team-UM, told the Dispatch that this could become a recurring theme. “Most countries have to consider that unmanned systems will become a threat used by terrorists. The reality is that the use of unmanned vehicles is spreading and the question is how fast will it happen.
“I think the difficult part of operating unmanned systems is behind us. They are not very complicated to operate for non-complex missions. But it is the man behind the unmanned system that will make the difference.”
The Dispatch quotes experts to say that the global market for UAVs is expanding quickly, and that the most popular items are the mini, micro,and giant models that carry out more and more missions were previously performed by manned aircraft.“The UAV market is about to develop in giant steps and become the largest chunk of the aircraft sales in the world,” Arie Egozi, an aviation expert who has covered the Israeli drone industry for over two decades, told theDispatch.
Today that market is valued at some $6 billion, but it is expected to double in the next decade, and grow to what some executives in Israel’s defense establishment estimate could reach $50 billion by 2020.
Right now, the United States along with Israel dominate the global drone market, but the United Kingdom and China are trying to enter the market.
Africa has become the latest major market for Israeli manufacturers of UAVs, but African countries are using UAVs for basic missions, including simple surveillance and intelligence without advanced payloads.
Recently, the Israeli Ministry of Defense approved the sale of the IAI’s Heron UAV to a number of African countries. IAI, Elbit, and Aeronautics have sold UAV systems to Angola, Kenya, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Analysts note that the Israeli UAV manufacturers have largely got the market in the African continent to themselves, and the only competition – and a distant competition at that — they face is from South Africa.
Among Israel’s largest UAV clients are India, Singapore, and Azerbaijan.
