Hezbollah released footage on Sunday night of one of its First-Person View (FPV) drones striking an Iron Dome battery on the northern border.
There was no public comment from the IDF, but unofficially, IDF sources could not dispute the video’s authenticity, and the visuals spoke for themselves.
The incident may have occurred a few days ago, and it may have taken Hezbollah some time to collate and release the recording.
The IDF has struggled to respond to the FPV drone threat, which uses special cables and manual operation of the drone to outwit the IDF’s advanced technologies for jamming and tracking drones.
During The Jerusalem Post’s visit to southern Lebanon last week, senior IDF officials outlined several new pilot programs to better identify and shoot down FPVs, but the military is still trying to catch up in real time.
Although since 2024 the IDF has improved in shooting down conventional drones, the FPV drone, which became popular for use in the Russia-Ukraine war, has thrown it for a loop.
In mid-March, former IDF air defense chief Brig. Gen. (res.) Ran Kochav warned that the IDF was doing an inadequate job specifically providing defense for its Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow batteries after air defenses in other countries were struck.
He emphasized that while all parts of a country must be defended, air defense systems are the most crucial and vulnerable because, if they are hit, the broader defense can fall apart.