Israeli interceptor missile shot down Russian unmanned air vehicle

On July 11, 2018, Israel’s military fired a Patriot missile at an unmanned drone near the Burayqah of the Syrian province of El Quneitra over the territory of the demilitarized zone near the line of control of the Golan Heights. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the drone was constantly monitored and that it traveled about 10 kilometers inside Israeli territory.

As it became known later, the downed drone turned out to be a Russian unmanned air vehicle (UAV) called the Forpost.  Ironically, but the downed five-meter-long Forpost UAV was manufactured at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant in Russia under licensed the Searcher technology from Israel.

At the site of the fall of the drone were found fragments with the Russian manufacturer’s markings, and markings from Israeli-made electronic equipment used in Forpost UAVs.

Russia has adopted the Searcher UAV by Israel Aerospace Industries and manufactures this Israeli product under license as the “Forpost”, based on a subsequent production design designated as “Searcher II” which is an improved Second Generation model introduced by IAI in 1998.

The Forpost is a multi-mission tactical remotely piloted aerial system used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment and damage assessment.

According to the FlightGlobal, in April 2009, Moscow bought its first batch of UAVs from IAI, via a $54 million package including BirdEye 400s and Searcher 2s. Late the same year, it ordered a further 36 aircraft worth $100 million. A third deal, valued at $400 million, was signed in October 2010 with the Israeli company, with UAVs having been assembled in Russia since early 2012 and deliveries to the Russian military starting in 2014.