On August 15, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, announced that it had seized an Israeli Orbiter drone that crashed in the Gaza Strip.
The brigades released video footage of the seized drone, which reportedly crashed in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City a day earlier.
The Orbiter is a lightweight drone that was developed by Israel’s Aeronautics Defense Systems for use in military and security reconnaissance missions. The version seized by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades was the Orbiter 1K “Kingfisher” loitering munition.
The loitering munition can fly for two to three hours carrying an electro-optical/infrared sensor with a unique two kilogram warhead that, due to its low acoustic signature, is not detected until two seconds before it starts its kill dive.
Israeli media said that the sized Orbiter 1K had been operated by the Shin Bet security agency, rather than the Israel Defense Forces.
Despite being armed, the Israeli loitering munition was likely being tested or used for reconnaissance. There are no indications that it was on its way to attack a target in Gaza.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza shot down and captured several Israeli drones in recent years. However, most of them were commercial drones modified for use in short-range, high-risk reconnaissance missions.
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