IAF shoots down Hizbullah unmanned aircraft. what????

what is with these reports of every now and then, somehow hezbollah have unmanned aircraft. are they talking about kites or something.

www.jpost.com...

there have been a few articles like this already in this war. how are hezbollah supposed to have unmanned vehicles. your views please, and what aircraft can they be talking about if any.

You think its hard to make unmanned craft?

A bud of mine in Finland is an RC hobbyist, he builds most of his planes in about a week, from scratch to operational.
Most of his planes are now equiped with a digital camera and a transmitter for the video signal. He also built 2 jet models that are equiped with a movable camera, which means he can fly steady and focus on a specific target.

Hes also working on software for Logitech XYZ+Zoom capable webcams to enable the camera to move on its own once a specific target is selected. That way the cam will stay pointed at a specific target area.

And this is a 26 year old RC and computer hobbyist.

Yes, the use of drones or UAV's by hezbollah is an unsettling development.

Just so you know what the IAF is up against, I'm posting a set of plans that hezbollah smuggled into lebanon from iran.






[edit on 8/7/2006 by centurion1211]
[edited out broad insults -nygdan]

[edit on 7-8-2006 by Nygdan]

thematrix - so you are speculating that hez do have some sort of unmanned craft. don't know but interesting reply, thx

centurion1211 - lol


[edit on 7-8-2006 by andy1033]

well its on fox too.
www.foxnews.com...

The drone, an ababil, was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea near the port city of Haifa, the Israeli Defense Forces told FOXNews. Officials believe it may have been headed for Tel Aviv. Ababils are Iranian-made aircraft that can be shot from a pneumatic launcher, according to Globalsecurity.org.

[edit on 7-8-2006 by Denied]

They are apparently Iran designed ababil UAV's.

Information and images can be found here.

and here.

Actually I am pretty surprised many people didn't know about Hezbollah's possession of UAVs. If I remember correctly they have four of them, Iranian made.

Remember this thread?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 7-8-2006 by Mdv2]

In addition to the source that Mdv2 gives, there was an article sourced here a short time ago which listed Hezbollah's armory. Among the weapons listed were "several UAV's".

I think people are used to hamas and the plo, and think that all arab groups have their capabilities.

A few weeks ago this would have surprised me but given the Iranian involvement in the current conflict it doesnt surprise me a bit. I think that as hezbo becomes more cornered we are likely to see more weaponry from them.

Originally posted by princeofpeace
A few weeks ago this would have surprised me but given the Iranian involvement in the current conflict it doesnt surprise me a bit. I think that as hezbo becomes more cornered we are likely to see more weaponry from them.

Cornered? Ha! What news are you watching? The IDF is failing on every objective it had from the begining of this thing, apart from bombing the Labanese people back to the stone age.

The only thing that has prevented the Israeli's from success is politics. They havent gone in and cleaned up like they are suppose to. Here we are a month in this conflict and they 10,000 troops deployed. Only 10,000!!! And that was done piecemeal.

Originally posted by princeofpeace
The only thing that has prevented the Israeli's from success is politics. They havent gone in and cleaned up like they are suppose to. Here we are a month in this conflict and they 10,000 troops deployed. Only 10,000!!! And that was done piecemeal.

The question the Israelis have to ask themselves though is that if they call up all 750,000 of their guys, how long can their economy keep that up?

Those reservists all had civilian jobs and they still need doing, plus the added cost of maintaining the offensive.

One has to question the ability of the IDF in combating Hezbollah as well. regardless how many men they have called up, they still hugely outnumber Hezbollah even now, yet they still have achieved bugger all apart from 1000 dead civilians.

Also, imagine the backlash if Israel did use all it's might to invade Lebanon. That would definately be overkill

Exactly Stu. Israel "could" wipe them out but they have chosen not to. As far as the economy question goes, the US would wahetever necessary to make sure it didnt fold so that would not be a problem. The prob is with Olmert. Too bad Sharon or Netanyahu isnt in there running things.

Originally posted by princeofpeace
Exactly Stu. Israel "could" wipe them out but they have chosen not to. As far as the economy question goes, the US would wahetever necessary to make sure it didnt fold so that would not be a problem. The prob is with Olmert. Too bad Sharon or Netanyahu isnt in there running things.

Is that the latest line from the Israelis then?

"We can wipe them out....I mean, we did take out 90% of them...but they still launch over 200 rockets a day and hold off our invasion forces...but we could..if we wanted too...you know we can..... wink wink"

Sure

If Israel "could" and they have stated they want to, then why don't they? Because they cannot.

Oh they can but they are succumbing to international pressure. I mean they could go into Lebanon and completely wipe out Hezbo but at the same time there would be a LOT more civilian casualties than there are now. If everyone is crying about 10 deaths here, 30 there, 5 somewhere else then what would they think if Israel went in there and won with attrition but killed more innocent people?

Their first priority is the safety of the Israeli people and by trying to root out terrorists yet also trying to be as politically correct as possible Israel has placed restraints on themselves that will not allow them to win quickly or decisivley.

Originally posted by princeofpeace
Oh they can but they are succumbing to international pressure. I mean they could go into Lebanon and completely wipe out Hezbo but at the same time there would be a LOT more civilian casualties than there are now. If everyone is crying about 10 deaths here, 30 there, 5 somewhere else then what would they think if Israel went in there and won with attrition but killed more innocent people?

Their first priority is the safety of the Israeli people and by trying to root out terrorists yet also trying to be as politically correct as possible Israel has placed restraints on themselves that will not allow them to win quickly or decisivley.

Keep believing that, if it makes you happy

I see no "self imposed" restraint, certainly not in the same vein as, say, British Forces practice when fighting in civilian areas.

To add, Israel have said throught that they expected a quick victory. That hasn't happened and to say now it is due to "Israeli restraint", when voices coming out of Israel are showing frustration at the Army's complete inability to defeat Hezbollah say different, is to misrepresent the facts and attempt to spin a military failure into a Humanitarian attempt to save lives.

Not going to wash, I'm afraid.

The current IDF chief of staff is IAF, and very much of the Lemay/Harris "bomb them into submission" mold. That explains a lot of Israel's mistakes in this campaign.

Anyone who thinks you can defeat a guerilla army with an air campaign is kidding themselves. It didn't work in Vietnam, it didn't work for the Russians in Afghnaistan, it's not working in Iraq, and it won't work in Lebanon.

True which means that Israel has the means but its the political/decision making that is hampering their efforts. No way would this be happening if Sharon was in power...or Netanyahu.

I did happen under Sharon, actually. And almost every Israeli PM in the last couple of decades.
It's been going on for almost thirty years.

Hell, Israel has been invading Lebanon on a regular basis since 1978, and creating more enemies there each time. Perhaps their northern border would be less restive if they'd send their troops across it less often?