The IDF today (Monday) allowed the publication of new details about Iranian UAV interceptions about a year ago, including a video documenting the dramatic interception.
The details show that the two UAVs intercepted by the F-35s on March 15 last year were of the "Shahad 197" type, and were launched from Iran on two different routes. The two were intercepted more or less simultaneously, one at 02:19 in the morning and the other at -02: 16.
The interception was carried out using F-35 fighter jets from Air Force 116 and 140 Squadrons, which made history with the first operational interception in the world.
The location of the interception remains under fall.
The remains of the two aircraft that were intercepted over the skies of those countries were collected and transferred to Israel for investigation, which ultimately determined in Israel that they were intended to transfer weapons to the Gaza Strip.
On a broader view, it can be assumed that this was probably an attempt to check the flight path.
Courtesy of Dot,
For a whole year, censorship ignored the very act of intercepting those unmanned aerial vehicles, in part to make the Iranians wonder what happened to those aircraft that were launched thousands of miles toward Israel.
The "Shahad 197" is a UAV manufactured by the Iranian industry, with a wingspan of about 7 meters. Its flight range is about 2,000 km, the flight speed is about 200 km / h, and in total it can Stay in the air for about 20 hours.
The interception of the two unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran is part of a comprehensive and evolving campaign of launching UAVs toward various destinations in the Middle East in general, and toward the State of Israel in particular. In particular, they are accurate, very difficult to detect due to their relatively small size and low flight speed, and Iran can cause no surface area, thus trying to obscure its involvement.
UAV interception during Operation Guardian of the Walls // Photo: Report
The Iranian breakthrough into unmanned aerial vehicles began in 2011, when an American UAV, which it examined and examined in depth, made a "Rivers Engineer" for it, and managed to produce several of its own models. At the moment, there are Iranian drones in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and even the Gaza Strip. Shahabhar and Keshem.
Courtesy of Dot,
The Iranians use unmanned aerial vehicles for a variety of purposes, including gathering intelligence, transferring weapons and damaging property and lives.
Israel does not elaborate much beyond that, but admits that as part of the activities of the war between the two wars, targets related to the threat of the Iranian UAVs were attacked.
The key moment that put Iran's unmanned aerial vehicles on the world agenda was in September 2019, when Iranians used unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles launched about 1,000 kilometers to attack Saudi oil sites in Aramco, disrupting the kingdom's oil production capability. For many months.
Iran has since used unmanned aerial vehicles to repeatedly hit coalition targets in Iraq and Syria, including an attack on a U.S. base in Tanaf, Syria last October.
Recently, there have been a number of attempts to transfer Iranian weapons through UAVs, with sometimes the purpose of the flight being to transfer UAVs for use by Iranian affiliates in the Middle East.
Iranian UAV interception in February 2018 // Photo: Report
In the last four years, at least four Iranian unmanned aircraft have been launched at Israel, in three different cases.
The first case, previously uncovered, occurred in February 2018, when an Iranian UAV launched from Syria's T4 airport and infiltrated Israel's airspace from Syria was intercepted. 185 km / h.
It is estimated that his goal was to transfer TNT to terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria, but he was intercepted in the Beit She'an area using a combat helicopter that fired a Hellfire missile at him.
In addition to the two aircraft launched at Israel in March last year, another Iranian UAV was launched at Israel in May 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls. In the stronghold of life.
This time it was a 'Tamad' UAV, which is also manufactured by the Iranian military industry, and is capable of flying at a maximum altitude of about 18,000 feet. Its flight range is up to 1,400 km.
Courtesy of Dot,
The head of the Operations Division, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, said: "In recent years we have witnessed Iran's use of drones for various purposes.
"The IDF has promoted significant operational activity in the face of the threat and any such attempt at Israel has failed. In the face of these attempts, the IDF has studied and researched the UAV launches and formulated an appropriate response. We are required to continue learning as long as the threat persists."
Regional cooperation - leads to operational success
A word about the regional cooperation that enabled the operational success in March last year.
Since the "Abraham Accords" Israel has greatly strengthened its cooperation with various countries in the Middle East - whether overtly as with the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain, or covertly - as evidenced by heads of state flights in recent months over Saudi Arabia.
Due to the tightening of Israel's ties with the countries of the region, cooperation between Israel and Egypt and Jordan has also become much stronger, and only recently has a joint picture of IDF officers with their counterparts in the Egyptian army been published.
These collaborations, which are invaluable, allow Israel both early warning of the approach of UAVs to its territory, and also, as we saw in March last year, action outside its territory in favor of thwarting threats before they enter its airspace. This is not the last Iranian attempt to launch unmanned aerial vehicles at Israel, and the threat is expected to accompany us for years to come.
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