The Hebrew newspaper "Calcalist" questioned the reasons behind the specific success of Hezbollah's drones in penetrating Israeli air defenses and accurately reaching their targets, compared to other drones launched from various fronts, such as Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and Gaza. The newspaper noted that the Houthis in Yemen, Iraqi factions, Hamas in Gaza, and Iran had launched various types of suicide drones towards Israel using multiple methods, most of which failed to penetrate Israeli defenses. However, Hezbollah's drones have become a real threat.
Is it the proximity to Lebanon?
The paper argued that the reason is not solely due to Lebanon being adjacent to Israel, as the launch sites for the drones are much closer than those from Yemen or Iraq. It highlighted that the primary reason lies in the new type of hostilities that Israel is relatively unaccustomed to dealing with. According to the newspaper, there is a belief that Hezbollah's drones surprise Israeli defenses because they are launched from a close distance, perhaps less than 10 kilometers, and can reach their targets in as little as two and a half minutes.
The Israeli army has proven capable of intercepting drones if launched from long distances, where there is ample time for detection and response to the threat, as was the case with the drones launched from Iranian territory on April 14th. Nevertheless, it noted that long-range does not guarantee intercepting the drones, and that the close distance from which Hamas launches its drones, sometimes as short as 4 kilometers, does not guarantee failure in interception either.
Interference with Radar Waves
"Calcalist" sought to explain the success of Hezbollah’s drones in breaching this equation by asking whether Hezbollah possesses drones with stealth capabilities superior to others. It added that while it does not have drones of this type, smaller drones that operate through radar jamming are more challenging to intercept.
The article provided technical information about the detection methods used by radars. It concluded with difficulties related to the structure and materials of the drones launched by Hezbollah, complicating the work of radar detection. These components can hinder the reception of returned waves to radars that were emitted to detect the target.
Examples of drones that complicate radar detection were given, such as the "Ababil T" and the relatively smaller "Samad 2." Among the challenges faced by Israeli defenses is the low altitudes at which these drones fly.
Terrain and Weak Intelligence
Additionally, the report mentioned the influence of weak intelligence capabilities in detecting the launch of drones early, which complicates the attempts to neutralize them and strike the launch platforms, or conversely, prepare to confront them if launched.
The report stated that Hezbollah possesses good capabilities to conceal its subsequent actions, with drones positioned on launch pads beforehand in hidden and secret locations, making Israeli efforts more difficult. It asserted that Hezbollah's front differs from others in terms of terrain, with the geography of southern Lebanon being one of Hezbollah's strengths and a reason for its drones' success in breaching Israeli defenses and their difficulty in being detected.
A comparison was made to the drones faced by Ukraine from Russian attacks, noting that Ukraine's flat terrain helped it confront many of these drones, unlike Israel, which is under attack from regions with mountainous terrain and comfortable paths for low-flying operations.
