Lebanese terror group using bomb-laden drones controlled via fiber-optic cables to evade Israel’s electronic warfare systems, leaving the IDF soldiers to use makeshift defenses against drone attacks.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli forces deployed in Lebanon are increasingly relying on improvised defenses against cheap attack drones able to evade Israel’s electronic warfare systems, as the IDF races to develop a broader answer to a cheap battlefield threat that has wounded and killed soldiers in recent weeks.
The drones, known as FPV drones, are flown by operators using goggles and are guided through thin fiber-optic cables rather than radio signals. That makes them resistant to standard electronic jamming and difficult to detect when they fly at low altitude.
Hezbollah’s use of fiber-optic drones has greatly increased the efficacy of the terror group’s drone attacks and raised concerns among Israel’s top brass that other terror groups, including Hamas, could soon add FPV drones to their arsenals.
Three reservists were wounded Saturday by an explosive drone near Shlomi.
In recent weeks, more than 100 soldiers have been wounded by explosive drones during the Lebanon campaign, and three have been killed.
One reservist serving in the 91st Division said troops often have little warning before an attack.
“Right now, we have no clear answer to this threat, except to run to a shelter, hide and pray,” the soldier, identified only as H., told Yedioth Ahronoth.
Troops have begun using fishing nets and other physical barriers to try to keep drones from striking them directly. But some soldiers say they have had to obtain the equipment themselves through civilian donations.
“The goal of the ‘fishing nets’ we use is basically to push the drone’s impact farther away, so that if it comes at me, I won’t be killed, but ‘only’ wounded,” H. said. “Instead of the army knowing how to supply us with them, company sergeants are raising money to buy them for us.”
Hezbollah has also adapted its tactics, using drones not only to hit troops but also to target rescue forces after an initial strike, soldiers said.
“Hezbollah’s doctrine is to fire at us once and then send another drone that locks onto the rescue force,” H. said.
The IDF says it is responding to the threat. The military said it is conducting “accelerated learning processes,” testing new technologies, working with international partners and improving detection and interception capabilities.
The army has appointed a senior officer to oversee the response to low-altitude threats, including drones, UAVs, balloons and model aircraft. The emerging defense effort includes passive protection such as nets, dedicated radars, special ammunition, shotguns and fixed weapon systems linked to detection tools.
Defense companies are also pushing solutions, including AI-assisted rifle sights, laser systems, microwave weapons and drone-on-drone interceptors. But experts say there is still no complete answer.
“The fiber-optic cable makes the threat immune to communication jamming, so kinetic response — bullets — becomes the only game in town,” Shir Ahuvia, vice president for products at Smart Shooter, told Yedioth Ahronoth.
Dr. Udi Ben Ami, CEO of OptiDefense, said detection remains one of the main problems.
“This is a tool flying very low, very fast. It appears out of nowhere and suddenly drops on you,” he said. “Honestly, it’s a very difficult challenge.”
The threat has drawn comparisons to the war in Ukraine, where fiber-optic drones have become a common and deadly weapon. Hezbollah’s use of the technology has raised concern in Israel that the same type of cheap, precise weapon could eventually spread beyond the Lebanon front.
Oded Napchi, CEO of Althimis, warned that the problem is not limited to Israel.
“It’s not that the IDF is struggling with explosive drones, it’s the entire world that is struggling with them,” he said. “No one in the world has solved this problem.”
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