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| Israel-Palestine |
| Hezbollah Mirsad-1 UAV Penetrates Israeli Air Defenses |
| 2005-04-20 |
| For the second time in five months, Hizbollah militants operating an Iranian-made drone successfully penetrated Israel's air defenses and flew unmolested for nearly nine minutes on April 11 over Western Galilee cities and settlements before returning safely to southern Lebanon. Local residents first reported the UAV. hich was not initially picked up by Israel's elaborate, overlapping sensor-fused early warning network. Current air defenses are not designed to detect and recognize small, low-flying, slow-moving objects like small UAVs, whose flight profile on radar and even through electro-optical and other sensors is obscured by ground clutter, glare and other environmental conditions. "It's like catching a mosquito with a net," said Brig. Gen. Ruth Yaron, the IDF's chief spokeswoman. By the time the Israel Air Force vectored fighters and combat helicopters to intercept, the camera-equipped Mirsad-1 UAV had already crossed back into Lebanese territory with fresh video streams from its estimated 18-mile roundtrip flight. While the flight itself had little military value, some analysts have expressed concerns that future incursions of UAVs equipped with more deadly payloads like biological or chemical agents could become a more potent threat. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #11 TW, at first I thought I am in a time warp, but fortunately, it is just a double post. ;-) I think that Israelis want to know the exact point of departure and arrival. Why swat a mosquito when you can drain a pool where they breed? |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-04-20 10:23:42 PM |
| #10 Interesting that the IDF would claim that they didn't recognize the drone in time -- are they trying to lull Hezb'Allah and Iran into a false sense of security? Especially when American satellites are watching closely, and can map takeoff/landing points within a meter or so? What do you think, Mr. ladidah? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-04-20 10:12:33 PM |
| #9 Interesting that the IDF would claim that they didn't recognize the drone in time -- are they trying to lull Hezb'Allah and Iran into a false sense of security? Especially when American satellites are watching closely, and can map takeoff/landing points within a meter or so? What do you think, Mr. ladidah? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-04-20 10:12:20 PM |
| #8 "tres interesant"............so the IDF lets "again"an UAV penetrate their air defense.........facisnating.........i guess that they let lots of things go by........i wonder why.........tra, la, la, la |
| Posted by: ladida 2005-04-20 9:04:44 PM |
| #7 Any bets the area it lands would be a residental neighborhood - right next to a school? You know how the brave Islamic fighters like to hide behind innocent women and children..... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-04-20 5:08:34 PM |
| #6 mojo - That's exactly it, hit the site it lands at with a huge air strike immediately. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-04-20 4:26:15 PM |
| #5 I'd support pounding the entire area of southern Lebanon flat. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-04-20 1:48:49 PM |
| #4 Even if you do spot it, don't shoot it down. Watch to see where it goes back to, then pound the entire area flat. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-04-20 1:26:54 PM |
| #3 I keep getting an image of a rubberband powered balsa wood flyer when I read the article. |
| Posted by: Tkat 2005-04-20 1:20:08 PM |
| #2 No, the UAV gets them. Vroom-vroom. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-04-20 1:10:17 PM |
| #1 This raises a very profound theological question. Assumption: a UAV filled with explosives is crashed into a school and kills a bunch of kids. Question: is the controller of said UAV eligiable for 72 virgins? |
| Posted by: Michael 2005-04-20 12:16:27 PM |