Zeinab Essa

It is not the first time and won't be the last.

Once again, the Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah redirects the compass towards Palestine. However, this time from space.

The Lebanese Resistance Leader revealed his party's new victory and left "Israel" under shock suffering the aftermath of Hizbullah's 'airquake'; the Ayoub reconnaissance drone that penetrated the depth of Occupied Palestine's space.

But what "Israel" really fears in addition to the new Hizbullah surprise is Sayyed Nasrallah's few words: This capability [the Ayoub drone] is only part of our surprises in any future confrontation.

Tel Aviv simply asking: What's next?

Ayoub's Qualities:

In an interview with moqawama.org, the Retired Brigadier General in the Lebanese Army, Elias Farhat, explained some of the qualities of Ayoub drone.
"By definition, a drone is an unmanned combat air vehicle  that is armed and has no pilot onboard," he stated, as he pointed out that "what really distinguishes this drone is its technically advanced characteristics."

In parallel, Farhat unveiled that the metal alloy from which the drone was made is a major point of its achievement. "The metal alloy similar to that used in the manufacture of US "Phantom" aircrafts, provides a reflective surface to Radar signals."

On the level of Ayoub's engine, the military expert highlighted that "the resistance men succeeded in assembling the engine in such a manner that allows the drone to fly slowly, thus making it difficult to be hit by earth-air missiles."

"This explains why the "Israeli" army resorted to the use of military jets to down the drone, " he said, noting that "Israel" confessed its high-tech jets failed to target the drone from the first attempt.

The Retired General further confirmed "the technical equipment of the aircraft will always remain a secret." However, he voiced confidence that "the drone was able to send instant sensitive intelligence images to the resistance operation base, all along its track."

Drone's Track, Timing:

Regarding the path of the drone, Farhat expected "the drone flew over the Mediterranean Sea for around 300 km, passed over Gaza's airspace, before moving into the "Israeli" depth, where it crossed 57 km."

"The plane arrived at a distance of 40 km from the Dimona nuclear reactor i.e. thirty minutes elapsed before the plane was hit," he elaborated.
Moreover, the military expert unveiled that sensitive "Israeli" military posts were under Ayoub's surveillance, on top of which is the Iron Dome. "This proves another aspect of "Israel's" failure in face of Hizbullah drone," he iterated, and noted that "the unique Iron Dome , which cost "Israel" millions of dollars, was unable to discover the UAV."

According to Farhat, the "Israeli" delay in shooting the drone had nothing to do with inhabited areas, as "Israel" claimed.
"Based on military logic, an army orders to shoot an enemy drone immediately for it fears the possibility it might carry explosions," the former LA General stated.

"Does any of the "Israeli" army officials carry the responsibility for such a hypothesis, which might lead to the bombing of "Israeli" inhabited areas?" he wondered.
To the expert, this "Israeli" hypothesis does not make sense. Elaborating on the point, Farhat added "Out of the 30 minutes Ayoub drone hovered in "Israeli" space, we give the "Israelis" 10 minutes: 5 to detect the nature of the aircraft (sports aircraft, Cessna or military training planes), and 5 other minutes to launch military aircrafts from Ramon base, South of al-Naqab[Negev] to intercept the plane."

On the timing of Ayoub's penetration, the military expert affirmed "it has coincided with the October 6, 1973 War with "Israel", in parallel with the escalated US-"Israeli" threats against Iran."

Farhat also referred to the scheduled US-"Israeli" military drills in the Gulf in the coming days. "The resistance axis succeeded in sending a strong message to "Israel": After land and sea victories, we are able to breach "Israel's" space."
"The drone's penetration also carried an operational military dimension suggesting that new facts are to appear in any future war with Hizbullah," he emphasized.

Ayoub: The Existential Shock

In another context, the Retired General shed light on the confusion and fear that preoccupied "Israel" after the resistance victory.
"Directly after the incident, "Israel" rushed to breach Lebanese sovereignty via intensive flights over the Southern Lebanese territories," he clarified.

The military expert further explained that "the "Israeli" military institution's fear was reflected in the deployment of Patriot missiles in the Carmel region, east of Haifa."
"Sayyed Nasrallah's vow that the drone won't be the last has dealt a blow to the Zionist entity," he considered, and reiterated that "57 km above the 48 Occupied Palestinian territories is an unprecedented nightmare since the establishment of the Zionist entity."
"Ayoub drone formed an existential shock to "Israel"," he estimated as "Israel" is no more protected.

In addition Farhat commented on Sayyed Nasrallah's declaration that "the drone is part of Hizbullah's capabilities by saying: "Ayoub is no more among the resistance surprises, it is known that the resistance doesn't uncover any of its surprises unless it hides higher levels of technical and military capabilities."


Source: moqawama.org