By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

 Iran counted on swarms of drones to attack Israel since the start of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion. But, according to the Israel Defense Forces, only a few were successful.

   The Israel military claims it intercepted hundreds of drones, using fighter jets and attack helicopters. The IDF says that 95 percent of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down – most of them launched from Iran failed to make it to Israeli airspace.

   “Observation units in the IAF (Israeli Air Force) and the Navy are operating in close coordination with IDF aerial defense arrays, aircraft, missile ships and other security personnel to defend the skies of the State of Israel around the clock,” the IDF said.

   Among the drones launched from Iran were two of its deadliest UAVs, the Shahed 129 and the Shahed 136.

   The Shahed 129 is a long-range, multi-mission drone that can stay aloft for up to 24 hours and said to have a combat range of 1,700 kilometer range (a little more than 1,000 miles).Experts are a bit skeptical, say it’s more likely for the Shahed 129 to have a range of less than one fourth of that.

   The drone looks like the US-made MQ-1 Predator, with a large single propeller engine with V-tail vertical stabilizers. It originally with anti-tank guided missiles, but is now believed to carry a precision-guided munition.

   The Shahed 136 is described as a loitering munition. But it’s better known as a “kamikaze” or “suicide” drone. It has a delta-wing shape with a nose section that carries warhead that can weigh up to 110 pounds. The drone can be launched from a commercial truck if necessary, using a rocket that is jettisoned just after launch. 

   Russia has used the Shahed 136 design to create the Geran-2, and has used it extensively in the war against Ukraine. 

   Writing in The Jerusalem Post, Dr. Itay Gal, Iran created a drone swarm consisted of cheap, loitering UAVs along with more sophisticated aircraft such as the Shahed 129. “The strategy aims to saturate Israeli air-defense networks, confuse radar operators, and create both physical and psychological damage on the home front, “ Gal noted.

   Meanwhile, France says its forces stopped a number of Iranian drones heading toward Israel. France’s defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu told lawmakers that fewer than ten drones were intercepted either by French ground-to-air systems or by Rafale fighter jets. 

Morris is Warrior Vice President, News. Morris previously served as an executive, writer and editor for ABC News and Bloomberg TV