Israeli air force claims it shot down Hezbollah drone

The Israeli air force shot down a Hezbollah drone for the first time today, sending its wreckage plunging into the sea, the army said.

Israeli media said the unmanned aircraft had the capacity to carry 90lbs of explosives, nearly as much as the more powerful rockets Hezbollah has been firing into Israel for the last 27 days.

Unlike the rockets, however, the drone has a guidance system to for accurate targeting.

The army said it was the first time Israel had downed a Hezbollah drone, though it was the third time the militia had tried to send an unmanned vehicle into Israeli airspace since November 2004.

The first two drones were on reconnaissance missions. Israel’s Channel 2 reported that this time it was an Iranian-made craft with explosives on board, apparently targeting an Israeli city.

The army could not confirm whether the drone carried a payload, and said its naval vessels had been sent to recover the wreckage.

In the first two sorties, before the current round of fighting, the drones, named Mirsad 1 flew over Israel for some 20 minutes while filming.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah boasted about Hezbollah’s acquisition of the drones months ago, and the militia’s television broadcast video of it in flight. But the militia has given away few facts about it.

Israel makes frequent use of drones over the battlefield to give it real time intelligence during fighting.