Israeli military censors have cleared for publication the information that Israel Defense Forces use combat drones – unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – to conduct attacks in enemy territory.
One example of this is the use of the Hermes 450 UAV, armed with missiles, to strike at Hamas terrorist positions in Gaza.
The Hermes 450 UAV is produced by Elbit. Defined as the “workhorse” of the Israeli Air Force, its wingspan is 10 meters wide, weighs 150 kilograms, is six meters long and costs about two million dollars. This UAV can fly for 20 consecutive hours and operate hundreds of kilometers from its point of departure.
Other drones of varying sizes have also been and are being used as well, by both the Israel Air Force and IDF artillery units in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon over the past 30 years.
The above information has been censored for years.
But “after extensive examination,” the military censor “found there was no impediment to the publication” of the information.
Most recently, a combat drone was used to attack a Hamas observation post in northern Gaza this past Tuesday (July 19) in retaliation for Gaza gunfire directed at a Jewish town near Gaza earlier in the day.
Israeli combat drones have also been used to gather intelligence.
