No hostile government has dared entered Israel’s airspace for at least six years. In early October, though, the Israeli Air Force reported that it shot down an unmanned drone. The drone was spotted crossing Israel’s southern border.
According to Israeli’s military, the drone was seen flying above the Mediterranean in the Gaza Strip area. Israel released an online video showing the drone’s elimination.
Air Force is Unsure of Drone’s Owner
At this time, no one knows who sent the drone into Israel. Some officials have blamed Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Many, however, believe that this is highly unlikely. One analysis stated that Hezbollah is the immediate suspect. One lawmaker in Israeli used his Twitter account to blame Iran and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah makes sense as a suspect. The militant group, which is based in Lebanon but has close ties with extremists in Iran, has sent drones into Israel before. Two of those previous drones were equipped with explosives intended to disrupt central areas of Israel.
Israeli Air Force Used Caution
The Israeli Air Force shot down the latest drone quickly, but it still hovered within the border for about 15 minutes. Israeli officials say they were aware of the drone immediately, but they let it fly for 15 minutes so they could shoot it down in an unpopulated area. No evidence shows that the drone contained any explosives. Analysts assume that the unmanned craft was sent on an information gathering mission.
Drones Have Become More Common
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Drones have become increasingly important to governments across the world, including the US Air Force. These unmanned aircrafts have pilots who are often stationed hundreds or even thousands of miles away. They control the drones remotely. This makes drones easier to conceal and less expensive to build. While they vary in size, many are quite small.
Drones also protect pilots from attack. Losing a drone aircraft is expensive for any military, but highly trained pilots are much harder to replace. Since the pilots work away from battlefields, militaries can keep their soldiers safe.
These unmanned planes are often used to gather intelligence on foreign countries. Even though the drone was destroyed, it could have sent information to its operator. Drones are also useful for military engagement, assassinations, and neutralizing terrorist threats without endangering pilots.
Piloting Drones Requires Immense Skill
Drones have also become popular within the United States military. The U.S. Air Force employs thousands of drone pilots. Years ago, many people the military considered drone pilots second-tier to those who flew inside real planes. Today, though, many pilots want to participate in drone programs.
Flying drones requires an extremely high level of skill. While traditional pilots can get information about their environments by simply looking through their cockpit windows, drone pilots rely on maps and video cameras situated on the drones.
Piloting a drone isn’t like playing a video game. Pilots often sit in rooms with a dozen or more screens. Each of those screens provides pertinent information. Pilots essentially have to use this information to form three-dimensional images in their heads.
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