New reports reveal that the Israeli air force shot down two Iranian drones on their way to Israel from two different directions. The incident, which occurred almost a year ago on March 15, 2021, had been subject to military censorship until now. While the precise locations where the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down are still censored, it is known that there were two separate incidents that happened simultaneously at two different locations. In both cases, the unmanned aircraft were shot down by F-35 stealth fighter jets. The incidents made history as the first time anywhere that these planes took down an enemy aircraft in an actual military operation.

According to the Israel air force, the UAVs were Shahed-197s, manufactured by Iran’s military industry. Their wingspan is about 7 meters, meaning they are not small aircraft. They have a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and a maximum speed of 200 kph.

Given their size, they can easily carry munitions and explosives. Based on the remains that were collected at the site and taken to Israel, their tactical mission was to transfer munitions, most likely to terrorist groups in Gaza. Considered more broadly, this could have been an Iranian attempt to open a new corridor to Gaza and test if weapons can be sent there via this new route by air. Alternately, the purpose may have been to penetrate Israeli airspace for some other nefarious purpose.

The launch of these UAVs is apparently part of a comprehensive campaign being waged by Iran throughout the Middle East over the last few years. The Iranian breakthrough in this particular military technology dates back to 2011 when the Islamic Republic first got its hands on an American drone. Reportedly, Iranian military industries examined the captured aircraft closely to learn how it was built and operated and then began building similar aircraft using the captured UAV as an archetype. A decade later, Iran has a sizeable arsenal of advanced drones of different types, all based on the original American drone.