Fiber-optic drones, the weapon Hezbollah has adopted to attack Israel: "Using them is easier than playing a video game."

The Lebanese militia Hezbollah has found a way to circumvent Israel’s defensive systems, a challenge for which the Jewish state still lacks a definitive solution. After more than two years of conflict, during which Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system has intercepted most of the pro-Iranian group’s rockets, Hezbollah has deployed a type of drone that bypasses this traditional system. These unmanned aerial vehicles, already used by the Russian and Ukrainian armies, are manufactured for a few hundred dollars using readily available civilian components and have already caused at least four deaths and several serious injuries among Israeli soldiers and contractors. “Using them is even easier than playing a video game,” says Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). First-person view (FPV) drones, which carry a camera that transmits a live signal to the operator, allow Lebanese fighters to precisely direct the explosive-laden device from a location where invading troops are not present, towards Israeli soldiers occupying a strip of land on the border in southern Lebanon. A fiber-optic cable, about the same thickness as dental floss, connects the pilot to the drone, allowing these tiny devices to fly without electronic radio signals. This means there is no frequency to jam, which disables the Israeli defense systems used against conventional drones. Images of drones chasing Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon or crashing near a helicopter during a medical evacuation have opened a new front for Israel. Hezbollah has about 100 militants dedicated to launching drones from civilian areas in the south of the country, according to Israeli army estimates. It is estimated that this network has fired about 160 drones at troops, 90 of them tethered to the pilot, often after sending an initial reconnaissance drone. This weapon has been incorporated into the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since the resumption of open warfare in March, following its common use in the standoff between Russia and Ukraine, where drones are estimated to be responsible for three-quarters of deaths and injuries on both sides. Iran, the Lebanese militia’s financial and military backer, has boosted its use of drones in the current regional war, especially against Gulf states, while some pro-Iranian militias have used FPV drones to attack U.S. troops in Iraq. Since a truce went into effect on April 17, which exists only on paper, and during which Israel has killed nearly 500 people in Lebanon, Hezbollah has been increasing its use of this tool, amid frustration in the Jewish state, where many see the authorities as unable to respond to the new threat. Some analysts accuse the Israeli military leadership of failing to adapt to the evolving nature of the conflict. The lack of a definitive solution against wire-guided drones, which on Sunday struck a battery of the Iron Dome defense system, is leading Israel to implement partial solutions used in Ukraine. Covering military vehicles with netting or metal boxes is among the alternatives, which are “not entirely effective,” according to Stanislav Ivanov, an analyst for the Bulgaria-based magazine De Re Militari (DRM). The army has received “thousands of meters of fishing nets” to protect troop movements, as is already being done in Ukraine. “These are ways to distance the drone explosion from the armored vehicle,” Ivanov explained. Depending on the drone, which according to Ivanov ranges from “hundreds of grams” to a few kilograms in weight, different explosive payloads can be attached, including RPG-7 projectiles with a 1.5-kilogram warhead. The Bulgarian analyst believes that a single drone cannot disable a tank by attacking it head-on. He does, however, consider them “effective” if they target the open hatches of a Merkava tank, the rear compartments of Namer armored personnel carriers, or the cab of a D-9 bulldozer. The attack on an armored personnel carrier in Shomera, in northern Israel, on April 30 left 12 wounded (four seriously). On the same day, a drone in Lebanon killed a soldier, demonstrating its deadly potential when it strikes troops. Some soldiers told the press that they take cover when a drone appears until it can be shot down. According to Kalisky of the INSS, troops deployed in Lebanon are also employing “kinetic methods,” such as firing bullets or small rockets at drones. The Israeli army is also reportedly exploring thermal imaging and noise detection systems. Kalisky dismisses the idea that these drones will be a turning point in the conflict. He considers them “useless” in an open war with troops on the move. But he admits that they are “a nuisance” in a low-intensity conflict like the current one, in which Israeli forces “are stationed and on the defensive.”