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On the night of April 22, Hezbollah fighters shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 reconnaissance UAV over Lebanese territory. The UAV was shot down over southern Lebanon after it violated the country’s airspace. The Israeli military launched strikes in response.
The Islamic Resistance confirmed that the Israeli Hermes 450 drone was shot down in the airspace of the al-Aishiya area in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah added in its statement that the Israeli drone was shot down when “it was attacking our honorable and steadfast people.” The strike on the drone was part of the movements’ operations carried out in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The claims about the interception of another advanced Hermes UAV was soon confirmed by the footage:
Presumably, the strike was carried out by an Iranian-made anti-aircraft missile known as Product 358.
Soon after the incident, the Israeli military officially confirmed in a statement that one of its drones had been hit by a surface-to-air missile when it was operating over Lebanon. Soon after the UAV crashed, the Israeli army attempted to destroy the wreckage of the Hermes-450 in an airstrike on the outskirts of Al-Mahmoudieh village in the south of Lebanon. The airstrike targeted the launch site of an anti-aircraft missile, the IDF added.
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The Hermes 450 drone, which is made by Israel’s Elbit company, has an endurance of over 20 hours. Its primary mission is reconnaissance, surveillance and communications relay. However, it can also carry up to four missiles for offensive operations.
This is reportedly the 3rd Israeli medium altitude long endurance UAV to be shot down in Lebanon during the ongoing escalation. Earlier in April, Hezbollah fighters managed to shoot down an advanced Hermes 900 Israeli drone over Lebanese territory. With a wingspan of 15 meters, Hermes 900 is the second-largest reconnaissance drone in the Israeli air force. It was designed by Israel’s Elbit to carry out reconnaissance, surveillance, communications relay and attack missions. A single drone of this model could cost more than $80 millions. LINK
