this post was submitted on 24 May 2026
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Inexpensive fiber-optic drones are challenging Israel's high-tech defenses, shifting the military balance in the Middle East.

A recent video showing an explosive-laden drone striking an Israeli Iron Dome battery couldn't have been more symbolic: Israel's famous air-defense system, which cost billions of euros, looked powerless against a small aircraft that cost a few hundred euros.

While the video's authenticity has not yet been verified, experts believe it is genuine.

The footage was published about a week ago by Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based pro-Iranian militia, which Germany, the US and several Sunni Arab states have classified as a terrorist organization.

The drone strike, if genuine, would mark propaganda victory for Hezbollah and reveal a significant vulnerability in Israel's military capabilities.

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[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Never going to not smirk at the israelis getting an L.

But be wary of media coverage of these kinds of drones. If you listen to The News, they are the greatest paradigm shift ever and you should totally give the military industrial complex even more trillions of dollars to find a solution!

The reality is that they are a lot closer to mortars than not. Comparatively short range and low payload weapons that are ridiculously cheap. Against an entrenched position with minimal defenses, they are devastating. But, ironically, most of the same defenses against mortars apply here too. They just tend to be ridiculously effective in Ukraine due to a mix of propaganda and how incredibly undisciplined russian conscripts are (see also: the idiots falling off of aircraft carriers in the us military). And... we aren't THAT far off of basically connecting small arms, sensors, and simple motors up to shoot drones out of the sky in areas where we don't care about collateral damage from falling bullets.

Don't get me wrong. Cheap drones have very much changed the battlefield. But... closer to "affordable" night vision gear equalizing things rather than the initial advent of (good) night vision gear basically turning rich (read: US) militaries into invisible killing machines.

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I'm not convinced that anti-mortar tech would be relevant. Drones are not ballistic and they can get under things and through openings.

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 1 points 20 hours ago

There are two general cases where drones are useful (for combat, not just surveillance): Swarms and tactical/targeted strikes.

For a swarm? It is literally any other artillery barrage. You either find shelter or you die. It is just a case of the attackers spending a lot more money so that they don't have easily detectable artillery pieces (or man portable mortars) to lug around

For targeted strikes? The advantage there is that quadrotors (et al) aren't easily detectable by humans when they are high up in the air (shockingly easy for the kinds of mics that are already used to triangulate gunfire though... and there is some university research to amplify specific frequencies for "tactical" headphones). This means that an operator can essentially hover even 20-30 feet up above a target and then either drop the payload or fly it in.

At which point it is literally the same defense as mortars. The fancy kind of netting to reduce the effectiveness of airburst munitions (and prevent drones from reaching the juicy bit). Trenches/foxholes to minimize the damage caused by any one detonation. And... just closing the damned door on the APC.

What you are describing is something we mostly only see in video games and the Drone Racing League. The idea that you get above your target, swoop down, and do a trench run through the hallways to get to your high value target.

First? That pretty much gets stopped immediately if people just close doors and windows.

But more importantly? You need to be a DAMNED good pilot to do that at speed so that you can't be stopped in time. And you need ridiculously effective real time intel. Because if that HVT walked down the hallway to inappropriately flirt with Private Pyle? Your ace drone pilot is now blowing up a few random admins and not the Super General or whatever.

Which more or less becomes the same issues as mortars but with an added bit of snipers: "Important" people don't stand near windows.

Drones, like mortars, are still pretty effective at harassing infantry and breaking up (poorly) entrenched positions. One of the most infamous examples of this is the Benghazi embassy attack. Most reports (so grain of salt) put the contractors as being REALLY good at shooting back. But when the attackers did a bit of math (allegedly weeks earlier...) and dropped mortars on their asses, it basically collapsed the defenses.

And... obviously drones are super effective at going after civilian targets. Same as mortars (or high angle grenade launchers, according to a certain nazi running for the Senate in Maine...).

But this is also something we "solved" back in World War 1 and 2. Which... is a big chunk of why the war in Ukraine is a lot closer to a WW2 battlefield than not.