Israel Loses Two High End Hermes Drones to Hezbollah’s Air Defences

The Lebanese militia group Hezbollah on April 6 shot down two Israeli surveillance drones, the Hermes 900 and Hermes 450, in one of the most significant demonstrations of its air defence capabilities in its history. It remains uncertain which kind of asset was responsible for the shootdowns, but the Iranian 358 loitering surface to air missile was widely credited with the kills by Western sources. The 3 meter infrared guided missile has a low speed and is optimised for shootdowns of drones and helicopters. The Hermes 900, with an estimated cost of $30 million, is among the most high value unmanned aircraft in the Israeli inventory, and can be outfitted for combat including with anti tank missiles, as well as for multiple kinds of surveillance. The Hermes 450 is a direct predecessor to the Hermes 900, and has taken multiple combat losses to Hezbollah in the past.

Hezbollah has been engaged in protected skirmishes with Israeli forces since October 2023, with the militia credited with having dealt Israel the only defeat in its history during a 34 day war from July-August 2006. The Lebanese force has demonstrated increasingly advanced military capabilities, including use of drones and artillery to suppress Israeli Iron Dome air defence batteries, use of precision guided rocket artillery to disable a key airbase in early January, and use of sophisticated ‘fire and forget’ anti tank weapons to strike Israeli armour. Hezbollah has in the past also operated its own drones within Israeli airspace at length.