Israel's stealth drone mystery: RA‑01 spotted over Lebanon
The Aviationist service drew attention to a video published on the X platform. Despite the low quality of the footage, a mysterious drone is visible, which allegedly appeared over Lebanon on Monday, October 28, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. It cannot be ruled out that the visible machine is the Israeli RA-01 drone, whose existence was recently revealed. Mentions of it can even be found in classified documents from the USA.
The Aviationist analyzed the drone visible in the short, 15-second video, published on the X platform (formerly Twitter). It notes that the device shares some similarities with the American RQ-180 drone, but differences can also be observed, primarily concerning the construction of the body and the size of the machine.
The recording of the drone attracted significant attention
The service also points out that certain doubts are raised concerning, among others, the unusually low flight altitude for drones using stealth technology and the alleged appearance over Lebanon (moreover, during the day) where Israeli air forces operate almost unchallenged, without the need to deploy Low Observable (LO) type resources. According to The Aviationist, this may indicate a deliberate showcasing of the Israeli RA-01 drone or a misinterpretation of the environment in which it appeared. Digital interference with the recording cannot be ruled out either.
It is worth mentioning that the first official mentions of the RA-01 drones appeared only in October 2024. Information about it also surfaced in classified documents from the USA, which The War Zone highlighted some time ago. This refers to details from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). American officials have not questioned the authenticity of these documents, which first appeared online via a pro-Iranian channel on Telegram.
The exact specifications of the Israeli long-range RA-01 drones are still unknown. It should also be clearly stated that Tel Aviv has not officially confirmed that its army indeed possesses such devices. However, experts believe that Israel most likely has a small fleet of RA-01s that have recently been in operational use.
The devices are used to conduct secret intelligence and observation missions. They can also carry out attacks. Similar to the mentioned American RQ-180 drones, the Israelis have utilized stealth technology in the RA-01, reducing the unmanned aircraft's detectability. Some experts believe that the drones may be stored at the Israeli Ramon airbase in the Negev Desert, as indicated by satellite images.
