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On July 3, 2022, "Al-'Ahd News," an online portal affiliated with Lebanese Hizbullah, posted a report detailing the chronology of the group's use and deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)[1]over Israel and the Mediterranean Sea.
The 'Air Force' Project Of Hizbullah And The Islamic Resistance
Highlighting the history of the "air force" project of the Islamic resistance, the report claimed that since its launch in the early 1980s, the project was "top secret," and protected by "security measures." The project had a three-part "mission": breaking into airspace, carrying out reconnaissance activities, and defense and response. The report described each part as follows:
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"Breaching airspace in response to similar acts: It is sufficient to say that the resistance can violate the airspace whenever it wants, and may choose the timing, place, region, and the number of aircraft to deploy.
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"Reconnaissance activity: The resistance is surveying bases, airports, settlements, and infrastructure in the northern region of occupied Palestine and in deep into Palestine in order to defend our country.
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"Defense and response: 'Mirsad-1' was not used for military action at first, only to counter violations, because the resistance wanted to defend the sovereignty of our country. However, if our country is attacked, it will use all resources and capabilities available to it without hesitation."
November 2004: Maiden Flight Of Mirsad-1
The report noted that Hizbullah began to use UAVs as early as five years into the "liberation" of southern Lebanon, coinciding with the escalation of resistance activity in the "Shab'a Farms," area with the launch of "Mirsad-1," whose name is derived from the Quranic verse "Verily, thy Sustainer is ever on the watch!"
Is also noted that Hizbullah issued a statement on November 7, 2004 stating that "the Islamic resistance has decided to surprise the enemy as a response to its airspace violations," and that "Mirsad-1" was ready "to patrol the airspace over occupied Palestine whenever it wishes to, as one of the legitimate means for confronting Zionist violations and attacks on Lebanese sovereignty."
April 2005: Mirsad-1 Flew 'Undetected" For 18 Minutes
Stressing Hizbullah's objectives of carrying out reconnaissance activities and responding to "the violations of the occupation," the report claimed that "Mirsad-1" completed its second flight less than a year later, allegedly flying "undetected" for 18 minutes, "despite the occupation's modern technology."
July 2006: First 'Attack Mission'
Outlining the first use of UAVs in attacks, the report alleged that despite its great firepower, Hizbullah used UAVs to carry out "attack missions," noting that they were shot down in Israeli territory. The report described the deployment of multiple UAVs as "great swarms of flying creatures let loose upon them."
"The UAVs carried the emblems of Hizbullah and of the Air Force of the Islamic resistance, in addition to military colors giving them a combat-ready appearance, but the occupation succeeded in bringing them down inside occupied Palestine. Dozens of occupation [Israeli] soldiers and officers gathered around the wreckage following one of the surprises of Operation Sincere Promise," the report stated.
October 2012: The 'Legacy' Of Hussein Ayoub
The report pointed to what it considered to be a "wake-up call" for Israel — a UAV venturing to an area near Dimona before being shot down by an Israeli squadron.
Hizbullah's Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah said at the time that the UAV had "breached the occupation's security, and flew for hundreds of kilometers from Lebanon to Dimona," saying it was an Iranian model assembled in Lebanon. The aerial vehicle was named "Ayoub" after Hussein Anis Ayoub, a.k.a. Rabi', one of Hizbullah's "martyrs."
February 2022: The 'Hassan' UAV Marks New Achievement
Stressing Hizbullah's "renewed approach of deterrence, confrontation, and advancement of its resistance action," the report cited a recent incident in which a UAV performed a significant "achievement":
"The 'Hassan' [UAV] flew into the depth of the occupied territory for nearly 70 kilometers, and for a duration of about 40 minutes, without being detected or monitored by the occupation's defense systems. The Islamic resistance marked a new achievement associated with the name of its martyr, commander Hajj Hassan Al-Lakis, the first adventurer in the skies of the resistance."
Concluding, the report called the deployment of three UAVs a "deterrent," saying Israel has been "looting" Lebanon's oil resources. The most recent UAV flight, it said, is just the "latest chapter" in the annals of the Islamic resistance "air force," and it will "not be the last."
[1] Alahednews.com, July 3, 2022.
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