Nuclear mattersIsrael shoots down motorized, unmanned balloon near Dimona nuclear reactor
Israel Defense Force spokesperson says that Israel Air Force warplane shot down an object — a motorized unmanned balloon — in the south of Israel; the balloon was shot down as it approached the Dimona nuclear reactor; the area is a strict no-fly zone; planes or other objects entering it are shot down first, with questions being asked later; during the 1967 Six Day war, an Israeli surface-to-air missile downed a crippled Israeli fighter-bomber that strayed into the restricted zone while returning from action on the Egyptian front; its pilot was killed
An Israel Air Force warplane on Thursday shot down an apparently unmanned balloon that flew over the Dimona nuclear reactor, a security official said. “It definitely flew over Dimona, although we are still trying to determine what that entailed and the military is now handling the matter,” the official said.
Haaretz quotes an IDF spokeswoman to say that an Israeli warplane “shot down a suspicious flying object, probably a balloon, in southern Israel.” Israeli media reports said the balloon was unmanned but powered by an engine.
Global Security Newswire reports that the balloon was spotted near the southern tip of the Dead sea, some twenty miles from Dimona.
Airspace over the reactor, where Israel is believed to have built more than 200 nuclear warheads, is a no-fly zone.
Last October, IDF warplanes intercepted an Israeli ultralight aircraft that accidentally flew into the area and forced it to land at an airstrip in southern Israel.
During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq launched two Scud missiles at the Dimona reactor, but the missiles were too inaccurate and hit the ground miles from the reactor.
