Hezbollah’s Fiber-Optic Drones: A New Threat Immune to Jamming
These drones are controlled via a thin fiber-optic cable, eliminating the need for radio signals or GPS and making them resistant to electronic jamming.
Hezbollah has deployed small drones guided by physical fiber-optic cables in attacks on Israeli military targets in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Multiple Israeli soldiers and a civilian contractor have been killed in these strikes. Israeli forces have been forced to rely on improvised physical countermeasures.
Technical Characteristics
- Control System: The drones are controlled via a thin fiber-optic cable that connects the operator to the aircraft, spooling out during flight. This eliminates the need for radio signals or GPS, making them resistant to electronic jamming.
- Range: The cable can reportedly extend between 10 km (6.2 miles) and 30 miles (48 km), according to different expert sources.
- Stealth: The drones are described as small and difficult to track. Some are made of lightweight fiberglass, reducing thermal and radar signatures.
- Limitations: Vulnerabilities include poor weather, physical obstacles, and tangling of the cable in wind or due to other drones. The drones also have a shorter range compared to radio-controlled models.
"These drones render traditional early-warning systems blind," said military analyst Hassan Jouni.
Manufacturing and Cost
- Local Production: Reports indicate the drones are believed to be locally produced in southern Lebanon, using off-the-shelf components and 3D printing.
- Cost: Journalist Ali Jezzini estimated the cost of each unit at $300–$400.
- Payload: Hezbollah has fitted the drones with anti-armor shaped charges.
Reported Incidents and Casualties
- Taybeh Attack: A fiber-optic drone struck an Israeli armored unit, killing soldier Idan Fooks and wounding six others. A medical evacuation helicopter responding to the scene was targeted by two additional drones; one detonated near the helicopter.
- Thursday Casualties: An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon. At least a dozen people were injured in northern Israel, with two sustaining serious injuries.
- Earlier Week: A soldier and an Israeli civilian defense contractor were killed in Lebanon.
- Kiryat Shmona (April 13): A fiber-optic drone crashed in a resident's backyard with undetonated explosives. No siren preceded the crash; the bomb squad removed the drone.
Countermeasures and Israeli Response
Israeli electronic countermeasures have reportedly failed against the drones.
- Improvised Defenses: Some Israeli units have deployed nets over positions to physically entangle the drones. An Israeli officer described this as "an improvised response."
- Vehicle Upgrades: Military vehicles have been equipped with nets and cages as a ground-level defense.
- Direct Engagement: Israeli forces have been instructed to fire rifles at incoming drones if spotted. One commander in Lebanon stated, "if you spot a drone, shoot at it."
- Official Admission: Ran Kochav, former head of the Israeli military's air defense command, stated that Israel is failing to defend against these drones and that defenses were not prioritized.
- Current Assessment: An Israeli military official described the drones as a relatively new threat and the biggest threat to Israeli troops inside Lebanon, adding that Israel is working on technological solutions.
"If you spot a drone, shoot at it," a commander in Lebanon instructed his troops.
Expert Analysis and Context
- Global Precedent: Similar tethered drone tactics have been used in the Russia-Ukraine war by both sides.
- Blind Spots: Military analyst Hassan Jouni stated the drones render traditional early-warning systems blind.
- Physical Vulnerabilities: Military analyst Nidal Abu Zaid noted the drones' vulnerability to weather and physical obstacles.
- Countermeasure Options: Expert Robert Tollast noted that countermeasures include physically intercepting the drones or cutting the cable, and that cables can tangle in wind.