A man claiming to be a resident of Lebanon posted a video yesterday, in which an unidentified drone can be seen operating off the coast of southern Lebanon.
The drone looks similar to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 drone, which entered active service with the US Air Force around 2016, but it has a unique body structure that does not match the few photos that have been seen of the RQ-180.
Some experts said it could be the RA-01, a top-secret drone developed by Israel, which was only recently revealed by the leak of several top-secret US intelligence documents related to an Israeli strike against Iran.
However, what the RA-01 will look like or any of its design features are still unknown.
The Israeli RA-01 UAV is said to be a stealth aircraft developed for long-range covert surveillance and possibly attack missions.
It was recently mentioned in leaked US intelligence documents, which describe the RA-01 as capable of covert operations throughout the Middle East, including conducting intelligence gathering missions over Iran.
The UAV appears to have large wings and uses a jet engine, which improves its range and stealth capabilities, allowing it to avoid detection during high-priority missions.
From these documents, attributed to the American National Intelligence Agency, it appears that the RA-01 was active during mid-October and left the Ramon Air Base in southern Israel. This air base was said to be involved in Israel's advanced intelligence gathering activities, especially in light of the tensions with Iran.
Although the specific technical details remain classified, experts believe that the RA-01 could represent an important technological step for Israel's drone arsenal, especially in intelligence gathering and perhaps even in conducting preventive military operations.