Mysterious Israeli drone sparks intrigue over Lebanon skies
The Aviationist service drew attention to a video published on the X platform. Despite the low quality of the footage, a mysterious drone is visible, which allegedly appeared over Lebanon on Monday, October 28. It cannot be ruled out that the visible aircraft is the Israeli RA-01 drone, whose existence was recently revealed. It is even mentioned in classified documents from the U.S.
7:27 PM EDT, October 29, 2024
The Aviationist analyzed the drone visible in the short, 15-second video published on the X platform (formerly Twitter). It notes that the device shows some similarities to the American RQ-180 drone, but differences can also be observed, primarily concerning the construction of the body and the size of the aircraft.
The recording of the drone drew considerable attention
The service also points out that certain doubts are raised by the unusually low flight altitude for drones made with stealth technology, and the alleged appearance over Lebanon (additionally during the day), where Israeli air forces operate almost unchallenged without needing to engage Low Observable (LO) type resources. According to The Aviationist, this may indicate a deliberate showing of the Israeli RA-01 drone or a misinterpretation of the environment in which it appeared. Digital interference with the recording cannot be ruled out either.
It is worth mentioning that the first official references to the RA-01 drones appeared only in October 2024. Information about it also surfaced in classified documents from the U.S., which The War Zone drew attention to some time ago. This information comes from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). American officials did not question the authenticity of these documents, which first appeared online via a pro-Iranian channel on Telegram.
The exact specifications of the Israeli long-range RA-01 drones are still unknown. It should also be clearly emphasized that Tel Aviv has not officially confirmed that its army possesses such devices. However, experts believe that Israel most likely has a small fleet of RA-01s that have recently been in operational use.
The devices are used for conducting secret intelligence and observation missions. They can also carry out attacks. Similar to the American RQ-180 drones, the Israelis employed stealth technology in the RA-01, reducing the unmanned aircraft's detectability. Some experts believe that the drones may be stored at the Israeli Ramon air base in the Negev Desert, as indicated by satellite images.
