Iran declares shooting down Israeli UAV with 'special air defense system'

Iran announced it shot down an Israeli Orbiter reconnaissance UAV, but Tel Aviv stated it "was unaware of the incident".

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on 24/5 that the country's air defense forces shot down an Israeli Orbiter series unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the southern province of Hormozgan. Iran's state television (IRIB) also released images of the aircraft's wreckage. MenchOsint, an open-source intelligence account on social media platform X, suggested the wreckage could be from an Orbiter 5 variant.

According to Tasnim, the Orbiter UAV, capable of radar evasion, was shot down by a "special air defense system" whose technical specifications have not been disclosed. "Officials explained that this system can prevent UAVs from entering the airspace extending from the Persian Gulf and its islands to the entire southern and southeastern regions of Iran", the news agency stated.

Wreckage believed to be from an Israeli UAV in a video released on 24/5. Video: IRIB

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) subsequently stated it "was unaware of the incident".

The Orbiter is a lightweight UAV developed by Israel's Aeronautics Defense Systems company for military and security applications. The aircraft is used for reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflicts, and urban warfare, as well as close-range intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) roles.

The Orbiter 5 variant debuted at the Paris Air Show in 2023, featuring a payload capacity of 25 kg, a maximum flight time of over 25 hours, and a service ceiling of nearly 5,500 m. Each unit is estimated to cost no more than 1,5 million USD, depending on configuration and support package. Orbiter series UAVs are operated by many countries worldwide, but seemingly no Middle Eastern nation possesses this type of aircraft.

Iran has repeatedly shot down enemy UAVs in Middle East conflicts. According to India's military specialist publication Eurasian Times, Israel has lost 18-20 small UAVs in the conflict, along with an unspecified number of expensive Hermes 450 and 900 UAVs. Bloomberg reported on 22/5, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Iran also destroyed about 30 US MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, equivalent to 20% of the total aircraft of this type in service and causing nearly one billion USD in losses.