Fibre-optic drones reshaped the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah are now adopting the deadly weapon
Hezbollah has introduced a new, difficult-to-detect weapon against northern Israel: small drones controlled by fibre-optic cables. These devices, with cables the width of dental floss, are designed to evade electronic detection, posing a fresh challenge to air defences.
Unlike many drones vulnerable to electronic jamming, which can cause them to crash, these fibre-optic variants are directly connected to an operator.
This direct link makes them impossible to jam electronically, a characteristic widely seen in the war in Ukraine. Though not infallible – wind or other drones can tangle their cables – their lethality is high.
Robert Tollast, a drone expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London, stated they are “absolutely deadly,” explaining their ability to fly low and creep up on targets. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, has primarily deployed them against Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon or border towns.
Experts suggest militaries must either intercept these small, short-flight-path drones, which is difficult, or find a way to snip their nearly invisible cables.
An Israeli military official told AP the fibre optic drones are a relatively new threat during the latest round of fighting with Hezbollah. Hezbollah seems to have turned to them because Israeli air defenses have been successful against larger and more powerful rockets, missiles and other drones, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.
Israel believes the drones are made locally and are easy to produce – requiring little more than an off-the-shelf drone, a small amount of explosives, and transparent wire that is readily available on the consumer market, he said.
He called the drones the biggest threat to troops inside Lebanon but said the Israeli military is working on technological solutions. In the meantime, Israel is taking measures on the ground to defend troops, such as adding nets and cages to military vehicles.
The fibre-optic drones are the latest part of a cat-and-mouse race as Israel’s high-tech defenses race to intercept new threats, especially ones that are less sophisticated.
Ran Kochav, a former head of the Israeli military’s air defense command, said Israel is failing in its attempts to defend against the fibre-optic drones.
“They fly very low and very fast, and they are very small, it’s very difficult to detect them, and even after they’re detected, they are really hard to track,” he said.
Kochav said Israel spent years focusing on strengthening its air defense systems to improve protection against rockets and missiles. But drones were not seen as a top priority.
He said Israel should have been following the advances in fibre-optic drones in the war in Ukraine and assumed that like Russia, other Iranian allies would eventually use them.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have been engaged in a race to develop new technology.
