Arab media are
reporting that Hizballah will unveil today the "Mersad-1" aircraft, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the 2006 Lebanon war. I'm not sure if they are saying that this is a new aircrapft or revealing that it was used in 2006, as Hassan Nasrallah
said this week he will reveal secrets about that war.
 |
| Ababil UAV, circa 2004 |
According to the reports, The aircraft - which Hizballah claims to have manufactured itself - has the "ability to execute multiple tasks, including reconnaissance, and hitting targets with high accuracy, and stealth capabilities, and the ability to fly higher than 5,000 meters above sea level, and it is also able carry warheads of up to 30 kg."
This
Lebanese website mentions the Mersad-1 in 2010, saying it is an Iranian UAV known as
Ababil. Wikipedia has an
article about it, saying it is probably the Iranian Mohajer 4.
Israel shot down 3 of the Ababils during the 2006 war.
All of this seems well known, so it is unclear what is being announced today. In fact, as early as 2004, Nasrallah
mentioned the UAV, claiming then that it could hold 40 or 50 kg.
Sounds like Nasrallah is trying to misdirect the Arab world from his own problems much closer to home.
