Israel: army admits using armed drones for targeted attacks

The Hermes 450, the drone of choice for the Israeli army.

(Drawing).

AFP-HO

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Israel admits to using unmanned armed planes, offensive drones, in its airstrikes.

As during the elimination of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem

,

It was a bit of an open secret, but the Israeli army now admits to using armed drones for targeted attacks.

Information that for 30 years was classified as "defense-confidential" by the Israeli military authorities.

It was

who, in the 1990s, opted for this weapon option, initially intended to destroy enemy tanks with the least possible loss.

A lesson drawn from the trauma caused by the Yom Kippur War in 1973. But Israeli offensive drones have also been used to eliminate Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

Notably Ahmed Jabari in Gaza in 2012.

Hermes 450, the favorite

The Israeli army's drone of choice is the Hermes 450, capable of hovering over targets for hours and delivering precise strikes when the time comes.

Israel has armed drones of all sizes and ranges.

A pioneer in this field, the Jewish state recently sold 140 Heron-type armed drones to Germany and has just concluded

for Harop suicide drones with a range of 1,000 km.

This unmanned combat aerial vehicle is nicknamed "prowler ammunition".

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• Israel

• Israelo-Palestinian conflict

• Defense