The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah is said to operate a fleet of 200 unmanned aircraft systems. Lebanese sources said the Shi’ite force was operating UAS throughout Lebanon.
The sources said the unmanned aircraft operations intensified in 2013 amid the war in neighboring Syria and attempts by Sunni rebels to infiltrate Lebanon. The sources said most of the Hizbullah UAS were produced and supplied by Iran.
“The UAS have been flying mostly in the Bekaa Valley along the Syrian border,” a source said.
On Nov. 25, the Lebanese daily Al Jumhuriya reported that Hizbullah was operating UAS to monitor the Syrian border. The newspaper said Hizbullah spotted and tracked a car that contained more than 400 kilograms of explosives.
“The vehicle was tracked upon entrance to Arsal on the border with Syria
and until it arrived in the area between Younin and Maqneh,” Al Jumhuriya,
quoting security sources, said. “The organization [Hizbullah] is performing
tracking and surveillance on the border through the use of UAS at night.”
The sources said Hizbullah was believed to have assembled some of the
platforms, also meant to strike enemy targets.
Source: World Tribune