Facing a growing wave of Hezbollah explosive drones targeting soldiers along the northern front, the IDF is adopting an unexpected but immediate solution: equipping soldiers in Lebanon with shotguns, i24News reported on Monday evening.
Shotguns are considered particularly effective at knocking down drones at short range, and the IDF cautiously estimates the measure could reduce the likelihood of soldiers being struck by as much as 80%.
An initial supply of hunting shotguns (originally designed for bird hunting) has already been acquired, with final field testing now underway ahead of deployment.
The move comes as Hezbollah increasingly deploys fiber‑optic drones, sometimes called “wired drones,” which remain physically tethered to their operators by a very thin cable that unwinds behind them. Unlike conventional drones that rely on radio signals, they are immune to electronic warfare; commands and video are transmitted through the cable, rendering jamming ineffective. The lack of radio emissions also makes it significantly harder to detect the operator or target the launch team.
A senior security official recently described the challenge as far more complex than earlier UAV threats, admitting to i24News: “It’s quite a surprise. We were not sufficiently prepared for this threat.”
More advanced countermeasures, including interceptor drones and other specialized systems, are still weeks away from operational readiness. In the meantime, shotguns are being deployed as an immediate, practical response to an urgent operational gap.
At the same time, the IDF has issued new guidelines for frontline conduct aimed at reducing exposure to the threat. While the specifics remain classified, the broader approach reflects a growing recognition that countering explosive drones requires a shift in tactics.
Army Radio reported on Tuesday morning that Hezbollah has fired approximately 70 explosive drones at IDF forces since the so-called ceasefire began two and a half weeks ago. Eleven of them caused casualties and fatalities among soldiers. Two of the drones crossed into Israeli territory and injured soldiers inside Israel.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
2 Responses
The problem with these drones is that they are very hard to detect as they can fly very low, as opposed to those operated by radio that need to fly high to receive a signal. They can also take a long route flying around the front line to attack from the rear. This is a problem both because soldiers generally don’t constantly scan what’s behind them in addition to the fact that fortifications are designed to protect only against threats coming from the direction of the enemy, like walls or berms. Ukraine has been searching for a solution to these drones for 2 years and the best they came up with was protecting everything from their positions to roads with nets, so Israel shouldn’t be talking as if they will come up with a solution shortly.
This isnt new or surprising. The Russians and Ukrainians have been using shotguns against drones fir a while now. With not stellar results.