Hezbollah Deploys FPV Drones Against Israeli Forces in Lebanon as Netanyahu Convenes Security Meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss solutions to the FPV drone threat facing Israeli troops in Lebanon. The Israeli government has called on the nation’s defense industry to quickly provide troops with effective defenses against the small, first-person-view drones that are often controlled through fiber-optic cables and virtually jam-proof.

Michal Mor, CEO of Israeli defense firm Smart Shooter, told Breaking Defense the drone threat has become one of the most urgent operational challenges faced by maneuvering and defensive forces today.

“These drones are accessible, inexpensive, highly maneuverable, and increasingly difficult to defeat, especially as fiber-optic-guided drones enter the battlefield and prove immune to electronic jamming,” Mor said. FPV drones are relatively new to the Middle East, where Hezbollah has made use of them against the Israel Defense Force.

Menahem Landau, a former senior Israeli defense official who previously headed the Israel Ministry of Defense’s UAV and Drones Branch and is now with the firm Caveret Group, told Breaking Defense the FPV drone capability is cheap, and Hezbollah trains the right people to use this quite easily.

The Alma Research and Education Center published a report on May 11 noting that since the beginning of Israel’s recent ground offensive in Lebanon, over 80 FPV explosive drones have been launched at IDF forces in recent weeks. Of those, about 15 hit and killed 4 soldiers and a civilian, and caused injuries to dozens of soldiers.

Hezbollah has published attacks by FPV drones on IDF positions and circulated them on social media, including a video of an alleged attack on an Iron Dome battery.

In the first two weeks of May there have been daily drone incidents, although the IDF does not provide data on which are FPV drones. A soldier uses Israeli firm Smartshooter's Smash 2000L aiming system, according to an image provided by the company.

Smaller Israeli firms, including Smart Shooter, say technologies ranging from smart rifles to counter-drone drones can counter the deadly battlefield development that has become ubiquitous in Ukraine but only recently appeared in strength in the Middle East.

Landau, who once led Israel’s official drone policy efforts, described the capability as a new and easily adopted tool for Hezbollah. Mor emphasized that the combination of low cost, high maneuverability and immunity to jamming has elevated the threat to a primary concern for both offensive maneuvers and defensive positions.