A few days ago, for the first time, Israeli censorship permitted the revelation that the IDF uses attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In fact, this has long been an open secret, as Israeli industries export UAVs of various types to many countries around the world, including UAVs that are operated remotely and are known to be armed. Many times foreign sources have reported the IDF uses UAVs for offensive purposes, including in various operations in the Gaza Strip, as well as in the Second Lebanon War. The latter was a historic turning point in the field, as this was the first war in which more flight hours were carried out by UAVs than by fighter jets. At the same time, the main role that was and is still played by these tools in the revolution underway on the battlefield around the world lies primarily in the qualitative and quantitative improvement of intelligence gathering capability, rather than in precision attack capability.
The ability to attack using UAVs has existed in Israel since the 1990s, and thanks to years of operational development and experience, Israel became a significant UAV power in the 2000s. For example, between 2005 and 2013, Israel was the world's leading UAV exporter, with sales of $4.6 billion. Since then, there has been a change in the global market, partly due to China's entry. Nonetheless, Israel is a world leader not only in the development and export of systems such as the armed Hermes 450, Hermes 900, and Heron-TP, but also in the export of knowledge and operational experience in the field.
On the other hand, the advantage doesn’t remain only on the state’s side, and in recent years Israel has also been threatened by UAVs by countries and terrorist organizations. Some are made in Iran, which has also developed technologies and operational capabilities in the interception of such systems. It is clear the revolution in battlefields across the world (as shown in the war between Russia and Ukraine) alongside the threat of the Iranian drones may have prompted the lifting of the censorship ban on open reference to the issue.
A few days ago, for the first time, Israeli censorship permitted the revelation that the IDF uses attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In fact, this has long been an open secret, as Israeli industries export UAVs of various types to many countries around the world, including UAVs that are operated remotely and are known to be armed. Many times foreign sources have reported the IDF uses UAVs for offensive purposes, including in various operations in the Gaza Strip, as well as in the Second Lebanon War. The latter was a historic turning point in the field, as this was the first war in which more flight hours were carried out by UAVs than by fighter jets. At the same time, the main role that was and is still played by these tools in the revolution underway on the battlefield around the world lies primarily in the qualitative and quantitative improvement of intelligence gathering capability, rather than in precision attack capability.
The ability to attack using UAVs has existed in Israel since the 1990s, and thanks to years of operational development and experience, Israel became a significant UAV power in the 2000s. For example, between 2005 and 2013, Israel was the world's leading UAV exporter, with sales of $4.6 billion. Since then, there has been a change in the global market, partly due to China's entry. Nonetheless, Israel is a world leader not only in the development and export of systems such as the armed Hermes 450, Hermes 900, and Heron-TP, but also in the export of knowledge and operational experience in the field.
On the other hand, the advantage doesn’t remain only on the state’s side, and in recent years Israel has also been threatened by UAVs by countries and terrorist organizations. Some are made in Iran, which has also developed technologies and operational capabilities in the interception of such systems. It is clear the revolution in battlefields across the world (as shown in the war between Russia and Ukraine) alongside the threat of the Iranian drones may have prompted the lifting of the censorship ban on open reference to the issue.