These small drones, armed with an explosive charge, are now guided by fiber optics, with a cable several kilometers long, “as thin as a hair,” according to Yehoshua Kalisky, a researcher at the Israeli Institute of Security.
While the ceasefire has been in effect in Lebanon since April 17, the Israeli army proceeded to evacuate 15 villages in the south on Thursday, April 30, as a soldier died after a drone strike. Two days earlier, a subcontractor was also killed while operating heavy machinery. Finally, another soldier was killed the previous week. Because Hezbollah now uses drones guided by fiber optics on a daily basis.
Classic drones posed serious problems for the Israeli army. “It’s very complex to intercept them,” explains Yehoshua Kalisky, a researcher at the Israeli Institute of Security. “They fly at speeds between 150 and 200 km/h. Any plane or helicopter goes much faster, so it’s difficult to intercept them.”
These small drones carry an explosive charge of a few kilograms. They are now guided by fiber optics, with a very thin cable of several kilometers connecting them to the operator.
In addition to being difficult to intercept, they are now almost undetectable. “The communication system via fiber does not use airwaves. You cannot cut this connection unless you can break the cable. But you don’t have scissors. This cable is as thin as your hair.”
Yehoshua Kalisky admits that the army is facing a new challenge, even if, he adds, “you don’t win a war with five-kilo explosive charges.”
