October 4, 2006:
Hizbollah apparently had four Iranian made UAVs in use during last Summers month long war in Lebanon. Two of the UAVs were shot down by Israeli fighters. This was a lot more difficult than it sounds, but says a lot about Israeli air-to-air missiles. One UAV exploded on takeoff, and the other one crashed just inside Israel. One of the UAVs shot down was carrying about twenty pounds of explosives. Iran has since announced a new generation of UAVs, and some of these will no doubt be shipped off to Hizbollah. There, Hizbollah may well continue its efforts to turn UAVs into cruise missiles.