Hezbollah Armed Drone Shot Down by IAF

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YNet has video of the Iranian made drone that Hezbollah sent south being shot down by the IAF. Here............

Previous post on the drone below................................

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Fox is reporting that the IAF shot down a Hezbollah drone aircraft armed with explosives:

Israeli troops shot down an explosive-laden drone aircraft Monday………..The drone, an ababil, was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea near the port city of Haifa………..Officials believe it may have been headed for Tel Aviv……..

Manufacture of the Ababils drone? Iran:

Ababils are Iranian-made aircraft that can be shot from a pneumatic launcher, according to Globalsecurity.org……………

Hezbollah having drones is not a positive development, and there is little doubt now that Iran is giving Hezbollah pretty much every weapon they can and Hezbollah has Iran’s approval to use them……..

Looks more like escalation vs. cease-fire at the moment………

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More on the Ababil drones at Global Security 7/14/06:

Hezbollah's remote-controlled attack on a warship Friday marked a first in the militant group's use of "air power" against its powerful enemy, the technologically advanced Israeli military. The Lebanese militia had launched similar unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, against Israel at least twice before, in November 2004 and April 2005, when they crossed over Israel's northern border on apparent reconnaissance flights, lasting just minutes before they returned to Lebanese territory.

(note: I saw the story run several days ago on the drone attack of an Israeli warship but did not see any confirmation and it appeared to be dismissed)

Hezbollah made or Iranian made?:

I think Hezbollah has people capable of rigging explosives to a drone, but I don't think they could develop a UAV on their own," he said. Global Security's website notes that a leading Arab newspaper, London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, once reported that Iran sold eight Mohajer-4 drones to Hezbollah.

Iran fields several types of UAVs, including one, called the Ababil, with a 9-foot-long body, capable of flying for 90 minutes, and able to carry a 90-pound payload. Nasrallah was quoted in 2004 as saying Hezbollah's drones could carry 40 kilograms — 90 pounds — of explosives…………..

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The Jerusalem Post is reporting the IDF statement on the drone does not confirm that it was in fact armed with explosives:

"It could be that the UAV was packed with explosives," the officer said. "It is also possible that the UAV was launched to send a message of Hizbullah's capabilities."

The article has more details on how the drone was shot down, and lists it as a Mirsad 1 made by Iran:

The Air Force believes that the drone was the same model used by the Hizbullah two years ago and was a Mirsad 1, a small remote- controlled drone with one engine and a small camera. Made by Iran, it weighs about 80 kilos and with a wingspan of 3 meters it could carry a payload of about 40 kilos……..