IAF intercepts UAV in Israeli airspace near Haifa

Date: 25/04/2013, 2:59 PM Author: IDF Website

An unmanned aerial vehicle was succesfully brought down by an Israel Air Force fighter jet off the coast of the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attempted to violate Israeli airspace from the north at approximately 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 22. The UAV was tracked by IDF ground and aerial surveillance for the duration of its flight path as it attempted to approach Israel's coast. Israel Air Force aircraft intercepted the UAV and successfully downed the target five nautical miles off the coast of the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

IDF naval forces are currently searching the area.

This is the second time in the past seven months that a UAV has been intercepted in Israeli airspace.


UAVs pose a serious threat to the State of Israel's security. The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to violate Israel's sovereignty or harm its security.


In October 2012 the IDF downed a UAV over the northern Negev. The UAV had infiltrated Israeli airspace from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea. The craft was identified by IDF control systems and was tracked for the length of its flight path in Israeli territory by ground and aerial surveillance, including IAF fighter jets. After several minutes, the craft was successfully brought down in the northern Negev desert, to avoid potential harm to a populated area.


During the Second Lebanon War in August 2006, Israel Air Force fighter jets intercepted two Ababil UAVs launched by Hezbollah toward Haifa. The UAVs were located and identified by the IAF's northern air-defense and aerial control units before it managed to cross the border from Lebanon into Israel. The UAVs were downed by F-16C fighter jets – one fell in the Mediterranean Sea in Lebanese territory while the other was taken down north of Haifa.