For the first time, the Patriot Missile Division shot down an UAV that breached Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip.
The threat of hostile UAVs has increased since the Second Lebanon War in 2006: In October of 2012, IAF fighter jets intercepted a UAV that breached Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, and approximately a year ago IAF fighter jets intercepted a UAV in the skies above northern Israel after it infiltrated Israeli territory from the Lebanese border.
Since 2012, there has been a significant upgrade of the Patriot system and an adjustment to deal with the latest challenges, among them the interception of unmanned aerial vehicles: "The 'Patriot' Missile Division is an inseparable part of the IAF's and its talented soldiers' answer to threats such as ground-to-ground missiles", said Colonel Chemi Bar-El, Commander of the "Sky Protection" Branch. "But, in the modern battlefield, the main threat comes from hostile UAVs and hang gliders".
