UAV updateIsraeli Air Force practices UAV shoot-down technique
During the summer 2006 war, an Israeli Air Force’s F-16 shot down an Iranian-made Ababil UAV operated by Hezbollah; Hamas is trying to smuggle Iranian UAVs into the Gaza Strip, and Iran itself is developing more sophisticated UAVs — leading the IAF to practice UAV shoot-down techniques
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is practicing shooting down UAVs using cannon fire from its manned fighters. It performed a successful trial involving a Lockheed Martin F-16 on 23 June. FlightGlobal’s Arie Egozi writes that the aircraft downed a target UAV during the intercept drill, using 140 rounds from its M61A1 20mm cannon.
the IAF is on high alert to destroy any UAV that may be flown into its territory by militants in the Gaza strip or Lebanon. An F-16 shot down an Iranian-made Ababil air vehicle operated by Hezbollah during fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border in 2006.
The air force has introduced new sensors that have improved its ability to detect UAVs trying to enter Israeli airspace since a similar incursion in November 2004.
