Aviation

Lebanese army captures Hezbollah’s Tu-143 Reys drones

- by saddam.asad27@gmail.com - Leave a Comment
Lebanese army captures Hezbollah’s Tu-143 Reys drones

Three Tu-143 high-speed reconnaissance drones have been photographed during the Lebanese Army’s ongoing operations against Hezbollah.

On September 23, 2024, the The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the existence of reconnaissance drones powered by converted Soviet-era aircraft in the arsenal of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, calling it DR-3, discovered during attacks across Lebanon. More than a year later, images of three units of the current system, also known as Tupolev Tu-143 Reys, were published by Al Jadeed News on January 6, 2026.

The outlet said the images were taken during a Lebanese army raid on an underground facility of the pro-Palestinian and Iran-aligned militia. Hezbollah, along with the Houthis and Hamas, is on the US State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Operations against Hezbollah by the Lebanese army and Israel (the latter with airstrikes) continued. January 8 and January 9. Both sides have competing claims to the success and sincerity of each other’s operations, but nonetheless aim to disarm Hezbollah.

Saying that the Lebanese army “dismantled” a Hezbollah facility, and possibly unofficially citing service officials, the publication of Al Jadeed He said: “Al-Jadeed obtained photographs of the interior of a Hezbollah facility between Kafr Kamma and Siddiqin in the south, which the Lebanese army had entered about two weeks ago, and it is a large facility that is still being dismantled as of this hour.”

As we will explain later, Ukraine also used the Tu-143 and Tu-141 Strizh, a similar-looking system, against Russian targets between late 2022 and mid-2023. Both systems are high-speed optical and electronic reconnaissance drones and are track independent thanks to rocket-assisted launch.

Its immediate, cheaper and technically simpler (although possibly not always successful) booking allows for both massive and surgical attacks. While another non-state actor like the Houthis more successfully shows how Western armies can be overwhelmed with asymmetric capabilities, the latter have initiated their own programs to acquire that “affordable combat mass.”

Auto Refresh and Link Loop
A Tu-143 Reys. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Popup Iframe Example

Tu-141 Reys with Hezbollah

The image shows three units of the Tu-141/DR-3, with their forward warhead sections missing. It is not clear if they were found in that dismantled state or if they were deactivated by the Lebanese army when raiding the facilities.

Operators generally keep the warhead and delivery systems of large weapons separate to avoid accidents or explosions during accidental launches. The Lebanese army also did not report any possible shootouts with Hezbollah cadres, at least in this particular raid.

IDF video from September 2024 of attacks against Hezbollah showed how the weapon was hidden inside civilian structures. Israel could have used man-in-the-loop munitions here, including weapons such as the Spike anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Spice guided bombs, Delilah cruise missiles or even the Harop kamikaze drone.

As to how the Tu-143 ended up in the hands of Hezbollah, the most plausible explanation is the alliance with Russia and the overthrown Assad regime in Syria. Lebanese Hezbollah commanders had claimed to “directly receive long-range tactical missiles, laser-guided rockets and anti-tank weapons” in their “unconditional” relationship with Moscow. The daily beast reported in January 2016.

Syria was also aligned with the then-Soviet Union during the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War. Within Lebanon, Hezbollah has a vast network of underground facilities to store its variety of missiles and munitions, which it announced in a August 2024 advertising video.

Launch of a Tu-143 Reys by rocket-assisted takeoff. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Use of the Tu-143 Reys and the Tu-141 Srizh in Ukraine

The Tu-143 Reys and Tu-141 Strizh have appeared before in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The latter first appeared in photographs of the plane’s wreckage on March 8, 2022.

Then, on March 11, 2022, another crashed in Croatia, and observers later identified the pilotless flying plane as the Soviet-era Tu-141 Strizh. On that occasion, the official Croatian statement said that the drone arrived from Ukraine, flying at more than 500 knots and at 1,300 meters (about 4,000 feet) altitude.

Meanwhile, the Tu-143 Reys made its first appearance in April 12, 2022in honor of the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Three days later its air defense systems shot it down. Later images of demolitions appeared on June 29, 2022 near Kursk Oblast.

The most significant attacks took place on December 5 and 26, 2022, on the Russian air bases of Engels and Dyagilevo, when Russia claimed that Ukraine used the Tu-141 Strizh. This was followed by a Strizh accident in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, on February 6, 2023, and on February 8, 2023, in Tuapse, Krasnodar Region, while allegedly attempting to attack an oil depot.

The objectives behind their use against Russia have been assessed from long-range, high-speed ground-launched surface attack missiles and baits/decoys for air defense systems, either for follow-up attacks or to identify the location of Russia’s anti-aircraft batteries. Russia had also alleged that Ukraine modified the Strizh with help from the United States after the February 6, 2023 attack.

Zvezdaa RuMoD publication, specifically accused US defense commander Raytheon and Ukrainian state defense export company Ukoroboronprom of collaborating to modify the navigation system of the Tu-141 Strizh. RuMoD had attributed these shootdowns to a combination of dedicated air defense fire, electronic warfare (EW) jamming, and organic failures within the drones themselves.

Kings and Strizh

About 150 Tu-141 Strizh units were produced at the Kharkiv Aircraft Plant between 1979 and 1989, two years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The units going to Ukraine joined the 321st Separate UAV Squadron based in Odessa.

With a maximum speed of 1,110 km/hour, a maximum service ceiling of 19,685 feet (6,000 meters) and a range of up to 1,000 km, the high-speed reconnaissance aircraft carried electro-optical devices, infrared imagers and imaging radars. You could fly and return along pre-programmed routes in your navigation system.

Meanwhile, the Tu-143 Reys is a smaller, reduced system, with television, optical, electromagnetic and infrared sensors, and both drones are recovered by parachute. It is eight meters long, has a wingspan of 2.24 meters, weighs 1,230 kg, has a maximum speed of 950 km/hour and a service ceiling of 1,000 meters. The IDF says it has a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles) and can deliver a 300 kg (600 pound) warhead.

Related Posts

Owen appointed new corporate development director of the HAECO group

Owen appointed new corporate development director of the HAECO group

Fear of landing – Forced landing of LATAM 767 in Atlanta

Fear of landing – Forced landing of LATAM 767 in Atlanta

Rotor-Lift future uncertain as AOC up for sale – Australian Aviation

Rotor-Lift future uncertain as AOC up for sale – Australian Aviation

About saddam.asad27@gmail.com

View all posts by saddam.asad27@gmail.com →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *