The Israeli military used surveillance balloons and small drones to collect information regarding Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions in southern Syria last May, Syrian military sources revealed to Sputnik on June 2.
According to the sources, the Israeli military used the Skystar 180 tactical aerostat system. The manufacturing company says on its website that the system, which is equipped with an electro-optical payload, can provide prolonged medium range surveillance coverage from an altitude of up 300 meters and transmit the surveillance video and data to control station on the ground.
Clcik to see full-size image. Source: rt.co.il
The Israeli military also deployed Elbit’s Skylark miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are also equipped with an electro-optical monitoring system. UAVs of this type have a range of up to 100 km and an endurance of around 6 hours.
January 21, 2013 Soldiers of the Skylark I-LE unit spent a week in the Negev Desert learning how to operate the Skylark drone. Source: wikimedia user: Oyoyoy
On May 17 and 18, the Syrian Arab Air Defense Force (SyAADF) intercepted several Skystar 180 aerostat and Skylark UAVs over southern Syria.
“The Israeli occupation army did not use such techniques at such intensity in the airspace of al-Quneitra before the Syrian army took complete control of the governorate, last year,” one of the sources told Sputnik.
The source went on to explain that these intense surveillance operations reflects Israel’s fear of possible Hezbollah activities in southern Syria. Last March, Tel Aviv accused the Lebanese group of working to establish a network in the region.
