the downing of a drone that entered Israeli airspace in southern Israel in October 2012.IDF fighter jets shot down an unmanned aircraft off the coast of Haifa Thursday. According to a military source, the aircraft took off from Lebanon and was apparently sent by Hezbollah.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon accused the Iranians of using Hezbollah to test Israel. “We’ll respond where we find fit, but there will be a response,” he said according to press reports.
The incident caused some drama in the skies over northern Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was flying to an event in a Bedouin village. The prime minister’s helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing as jets scrambled to identify and intercept the aircraft at about 2 p.m., Ynet reported.
“I view with utmost gravity this attempt to violate our border. We will continue to do everything necessary to safeguard the security of Israel’s citizens,” Netanyahu said after the incident.
Israeli navy and air force troops were sent to search the area where the aircraft was intercepted in order to prevent possible entry of additional drones and to locate debris which might shed light on the aircraft’s mission.
The plane was identified while still in Lebanon and IDF fighter jets were immediately scrambled to track it, the IDF said. Once it became clear that the drone was not an IDF or civilian aircraft, a decision was made to intercept the drone.
It was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet some five miles off the Haifa coast at 6,000 feet in the air, the IDF said.
Source: timesofisrael
