What types of deadly drones is Hezbollah using against Israel? - explainer

In its deadliest drone attack in 12 months, a Hezbollah unmanned aerial vehicle killed four soldiers on a training base near Binyamina. The attack also critically wounded seven others and injured dozens more.

In recent months, drone attacks against Israel have become more deadly and more serious. For instance, in July, a Houthi UAV struck Tel Aviv. A drone attack targeting the Golan in early October claimed the lives of two soldiers and wounded 24 others. In addition, Hezbollah launched two drones targeting Herzliya during Yom Kippur, with one striking a building.

As the UAV attacks become more deadly, it’s worth asking: what is known about the types of drones that Hezbollah and Iranian proxies are using in their attacks? Estimates suggest that Hezbollah possesses over 2,000 drones of various types and continues to acquire and build them.

It has carried out several hundred UAV attacks on Israel since October 2023. Most of these involve kamikaze drones that are basically made up of a long tube-like fuselage and a warhead at the front of the tube, with a propeller at the back. Hezbollah drones appear to have a range that can reach Tel Aviv.

Observation drones

Hezbollah has deployed various types of UAVs to conduct surveillance. While the full range of Hezbollah’s UAVs remains unknown, it is likely that the terrorist group utilizes commercial quadcopter drones in addition to other small drones capable of filming video and gathering intelligence. It has used these to fly over IDF bases in the Galilee and the Golan, and Hezbollah has twice released footage taken from its surveillance drones.

Kamikaze drones

The concept of using a drone as a kamikaze weapon is relatively new. Initially, Iran and Hezbollah used drones for surveillance. When they sought to put munitions on the UAVs, just as the US put missiles on the Predator drone, they ran into challenges.

It’s difficult to navigate a drone with a munition where you need a man-in-the-loop to drop the bomb or launch the missile from the UAV. It usually means having some kind of communications link, like satellites and other technology that Hezbollah does not have access to. That would limit Hezbollah to line-of-sight control of its drones if it tried to put weapons on them.

The simple solution for Iran and Hezbollah was to simply turn the drone into a weapon, similar to a cruise missile. These types of UAVs are called “loitering munitions.” This is because they are “munitions,” but unlike a cruise missile, they can fly in a pattern and “loiter” over a target.

Hezbollah drones don’t necessarily have all these capabilities. They are unlikely to be able to fly in circles and “loiter” because it is not likely that there is a person guiding them. More likely, they are pre-programmed with a flight path and destination. Hezbollah collects intelligence on sites it wants to attack and then launches UAVs with a flight path to attack the site. The drone is on a one-way mission and if it doesn’t hit its target, it will hit something nearby. It must be shot down before impact.

The Houthis and Iraqi militias that are backed by Iran have all acquired various types of these one-way attack drones. The Iraqi militias have used drones to target US forces, including a CIA hanger in Erbil and also US soldiers in Jordan.

Mirsad-1 and Mirsad-2

The Mirsad family of UAVs is based on Iranian drone types called the Ababil and Mohajer. The Ababil and Mohajer both are part of larger families of Iranian drones. Hezbollah acquired these types of drones decades ago and then refined them for their own use. Photos of the Mirsad generally show it with a long tube-like fuselage and longer wings at the back, compared to shorter wings at the front.

Depending on the type being used, the Mirsad may carry up to 40 kg. of munitions and has a range of some 120 km. This would have given it the capability to carry out the attack on October 13. The Mirsad-1 type of UAV is based on the Ababil-T, which was developed in Iran. The Mirsad-2, which Hezbollah has used, looks more like a small airplane with a double-tail section and is modeled on the Mohajer-4 Iranian drone.

Ababil

Hezbollah has also used Iranian UAV types, such as the Ababil. It has sometimes repackaged them or changed them to create local models. The Ababil itself has gone through many changes as the Iranians modernized it. One version is six meters long with longer wings in the back, shorter wings in the front, and a propeller at the end of the fuselage and is launched from the back of a truck.

The Ababil-T version of this drone appears to be the export version that later became the Hezbollah Mirsad and also the Houthi Qasef-1 drone. This means that once Iran happened upon this model of the Ababil, it realized it could be easily built by its proxies.

The Ababil-T has a similar range and munition payload as the Mirsad that Hezbollah likely copied from it, meaning it has a 40 kg. munition payload and range of between 100 and 120 km., as well as a flight speed of up to 370 kph. The Alma Research and Education Center says this UAV is the main one in Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Shahed

The main Iranian export model of kamikaze drones today is the Shahed-136. This drone weighs around 200 kg. and has up to a 50 kg. warhead. It has a wingspan of 2.5 meters and is around 3.5 meters long. It has a significant range, estimated to exceed 2,000 km. The Shahed-136 was first spotted in Yemen in January 2021. It was also exported to Russia for use against Ukraine in the war that began in 2022.

As such, the Shahed-136 became the workhorse of Iran and its proxies in spreading terror. The Shahed can be moved around in a shipping container and is easy to launch. It has a design similar to a large flying V with a delta-wing shape and is equipped with an engine at the back and a warhead at the front. The relatively simple design and ease of transport make it ideal for groups such as Hezbollah.

Evidence from drone attacks on Israel

It is not always easy to figure out what type of UAV was used in an attack by Hezbollah or other Iranian proxies. Sometimes images of the drone can be seen prior to the strike. For instance, the Houthi drone that struck Tel Aviv in July was caught on video flying over the water. It looked like a small plane with what seemed to be a long wing and a loud propeller at the back.

The Houthis published a video of this UAV, which seems to show a drone several meters long with a wing like an airplane and then a tail that has two small stabilizers that are at angles to the aircraft rather than sticking out horizontally. This kind of tail section is similar to the US Reaper and other drones. A similar tail section was seen on a video of a drone flying over Herzliya on Yom Kippur.

This means that the design types of many of these drones have become similar among the Iranian proxies. By contrast, the UAV that struck Arab el-Aramsha in April was also caught on video and looks like an Iranian Ababil-T with a large tail and smaller wings in the front.

Karrar and other types of Hezbollah drones

According to reports at the Alma Center, the terrorist group Hezbollah has likely acquired other drones as part of its 2,000-drone arsenal.

“We estimate that Hezbollah most likely has additional advanced UAV models, such as the ‘Mohajer,’ ‘Shahed,’ and ‘Samed’ (KAS-04), ‘Karrar,’ and ‘Saegheh’ types.”

According to Israel Hayom, “the Karrar is an Iranian-made drone based on the American jet-powered Striker drone. The Karrar is a kind of “poor man’s fighter jet” because it combines suicide attack capabilities, bomb dropping, and even air-to-air missile launches against aircraft. Its range is relatively long, and Hezbollah apparently attempted to use it during the Syrian civil war.”

A study by CNN also said that Hezbollah likely has the Quds Yasir type of drone with a 200 km. range. This strange-looking aircraft basically consists of one large wing that is several meters long with a short fuselage.

CNN also says that Hezbollah has the Shahed-129, which may have a 2,000 km. range. Originally, the Iranians developed this UAV as a copy of the Israeli Hermes 450, which is the workhorse of the Israeli drone fleet. Later models show this drone also has a V-shaped stabilizer at the tail and looks similar to a US Predator or other similar types of drones that basically resemble small airplanes.