Fibre optic FPV drones: Hezbollah's 'unjammable' weapon

In an escalation of tactical capabilities, the Lebanese group Hezbollah has introduced an "unjammable" weapon to the battlefield: first-person view (FPV) attack drones guided by physical fibre optic cables. 

This technology has recently allowed the group to bypass some of the world's most sophisticated defence systems, most notably during a successful strike on an Israeli Iron Dome battery.

On Sunday (10 May), Hezbollah released footage showing one of its FPV drones striking an Iron Dome anti-missile battery in northern Israel.

The video captured the drone flying at a low level until the moment of impact. 

While the Israel Defense Forces did not provide a public comment on the specific damage to the battery, sources in the military could not dispute the video's authenticity, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Hezbollah has published videos of more than 45 FPV attacks, 28 of them in the nearly four weeks since a ceasefire between the US and Iran, which had halted Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital before Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah commander there on Wednesday (6 May), reports Reuters. 

Former Israeli air defence chief Ran Kochav has previously warned that air defence systems like the Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow are "crucial and vulnerable" targets; if they are disabled, Israel's broader national defence can collapse.

How they work

Traditional drones rely on radio frequencies or satellite signals, which are susceptible to electronic warfare (EW) jamming. Hezbollah's new FPV drones, however, are tethered directly to the operator by a fibre optic thread, reports Al Jazeera.

• Immunity to jamming: Because there is no wireless signal to intercept, the drones are completely immune to Israel's sophisticated electronic jamming systems.
• Stealth construction: These aircraft are often built from lightweight fibreglass, which emits almost no thermal or radar signature, rendering traditional early-warning systems "blind."
• Precision guidance: High-resolution optical cameras transmit uncompressed video through the cable, allowing operators to manually steer the drone into specific vulnerabilities, such as a tank's turret or the sensitive components of a radar battery. 
• Range: The spools of glass fibre can extend between 10 and 30 kilometres, enabling missions deep into enemy territory without emitting detectable radio waves. 

Tactical shifts and limitations

The use of these drones mirrors battlefield developments seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, where tethered drones are used to operate in heavily jammed environments. 

Hezbollah's workshops in southern Lebanon modify these drones with anti-armour charges, creating a cheap, precise alternative to conventional anti-tank missiles.

However, the technology is not infallible. Military analysts note that the lightweight fibreglass bodies are vulnerable to poor weather, such as heavy rain and high winds. 

Additionally, the thin fibre optic cable can snap easily if it catches on a physical obstacle like a tree or a building.

The Israeli response

The IDF is currently struggling to find a systematic military solution to this "asymmetric nightmare." Because radar often fails to detect these drones, front-line commanders have resorted to improvised defences, such as:

• Physical nets: Hanging nets over military positions, houses, and windows to tangle the drones before they can detonate.
• Manual interception: Soldiers are often briefed to simply keep watch and attempt to shoot the drones down with assault rifles if they spot them visually.

While the IDF has initiated new pilot programmes to better identify and intercept FPVs, officials acknowledge they are currently "trying to catch up in real time" to a threat that bypasses their multibillion-dollar electronic defences.