The explosive-laden quadcopter flew close to the rooftops of southern Lebanon, navigating with precision between destroyed buildings and along dirt roads. The drone provided the operator with a clear first-person image of the target: an Israeli tank with soldiers nearby.
At the top of the image, in white letters, were two words: “BOMB READY”
The quadcopter is a fiber-optic drone, experts say — a weapon that Hezbollah has increasingly used with lethal precision. These drones are difficult to stop and even more difficult to detect, offering operators a high-resolution view of the target without emitting any signals that can be jammed.
Drones are “immune to communications interference, and in the absence of an electronic signature, it is also impossible to discover the location from which they were launched,” wrote Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies.
In a high-quality Hezbollah video released on Sunday, the quadcopter drone, weighing just a few kilograms, hits its target while Israeli soldiers appear completely oblivious to its approach. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the attack killed 19-year-old Sergeant Idan Fooks and injured several others. Hezbollah then launched more drones at a rescue helicopter that arrived at the scene to evacuate injured soldiers.
Fiber-optic drones are effective because of their simplicity: Instead of a wireless signal that controls the drone remotely, the fiber-optic cable directly connects the drone to the operator.
Fiber optic cables are very thin and light — virtually invisible to the naked eye — and the cable can stretch up to 15 kilometers or more, an Israeli military source told CNNallowing the operator to remain at a safe distance while the drone transmits a clear first-person image of the target.
The IDF has leaned on its technological advantage to combat drone warfare, jamming the signals and frequencies used by operators to control the devices in order to stop them before they reach Israeli soldiers. But without a signal, the IDF cannot electronically interfere with the control of fiber-optic drones and also face greater difficulty detecting the incoming projectile.
“Apart from physical barriers like nets, there is little that can be done,” the Israeli military source said. “It is a low-tech system adapted for asymmetric warfare.”
Fiber-optic drones first appeared in large numbers in , where Russian forces used them to great effect, further extending their reach. Russia was also able to connect the drone’s fiber optic cable to a base unit, which in turn was connected to an operator. This additional connection moved the operator away from the drone, protecting it and making it even more difficult to hit. Russia’s ability to mass produce drones — or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — has allowed Moscow to cut off Ukrainian supply lines with strikes far beyond the front lines.
Hezbollah’s targets are different. so close to their own bases that there are no significant supply lines to reach. Instead, Hezbollah drone operators have been hunting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, within range of these weapons.
“This is a capable system that, in the right hands, with an experienced operator and against a force that does not expect this type of attack, can be quite effective,” said Samuel Bendett, a research associate at the Center for New American Security. “Even against a force that knows this technology and takes precautions, it can still be lethal.”
Israel believes Hezbollah imports civilian drones from China or Iran, the source said, and then equips them with grenades or similar explosive devices. The result is a nearly invisible and highly accurate weapon that allows Hezbollah to carry out targeted attacks — albeit small-scale ones — against Israeli forces. China has previously denied supplying weapons to any party to the conflict and claims to comply with its international obligations.
Although limited in terms of destruction, these low-cost devices are a potent weapon for Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah already has a very sophisticated arsenal of drones,” Bendett told CNN. “There are many experienced people, with different types of experience in UAVs.”
For years to build a vast arsenal of rockets and missiles. Before the war in Gaza, Israeli authorities estimated that the group possessed around 150,000 rockets, including long-range and precision munitions. But, throughout the conflict — due to Israeli attacks and the use of these weapons by Hezbollah itself — Israeli authorities estimate that the group currently maintains only around 10% of this arsenal.
Unable to match Israel’s military power or technology, the Iranian-backed militia resorted to asymmetric warfare, just as Iran itself did against the United States and Israel.
The IDF has responded by using nets and other physical barriers — as seen in Ukraine — to prevent drones from hitting troops, but an Israeli military official acknowledged that this is an imperfect solution to a low-tech problem.
“It’s not foolproof — not as much as we’d like,” the official said. The IDF is working with its intelligence directorate to find better ways to combat fiber-optic drones, he added, but the danger remains.
“It’s a threat we’re still adapting to,” the official said. The problem worsens when Hezbollah launches multiple drones at the same time, which can overwhelm systems that are not yet fully prepared to identify these threats.
“Hezbollah is learning fast. They are trying to coordinate attacks, so it is a threat.”
