Reference News website reported on June 16 that according to a report on the website of "The New York Times" of the United States on June 14, attack drones are small in size, difficult to detect, and highly offensive, becoming an elusive weapon in modern warfare. Moreover, if they can take off from within enemy territory (just like the attacks by them in Iran and Russia this month), these drones will be even more destructive.

Having drones attacking from inside the enemy's territory combines classic military strategy with modern technology. Officials and weapons experts said that espionage and covert operations have long been common in war, but using them to build or deploy lethal drones behind enemy lines is a new strategy in the evolution of warfare.

About two weeks ago, it was exactly like this - over 40 Russian aircraft were attacked by up to 117 drones, which Ukraine had secretly deployed near Russian military bases. Some of them were thousands of miles deep into Russia's interior.

The situation in Iran was similar. On the 13th, Israel's agents' earlier smuggled-in drones and other secret weapons attacked Iran, destroying a large number of missiles, interceptors, and air defense systems.

In order to protect intelligence-gathering methods and sources, it is difficult for outsiders to clearly understand the details and full scope of these covert actions.

Asaf Orion, a defense strategist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a retired Israeli brigadier general, said that Israel's approach gave it an advantage in its wide-ranging attack on Iran, "because the attack came from within."

"This means that Iran not only needs to guard against the west flank, but also against the inside," Orion said.

Israeli officials said that this covert operation was the result of years of preparation by Israel.

Experts believe that at least some of the drones used in the entire attack by Israel were quadcopters with four rotors, some of which were relatively small but could carry bombs or other weapons.

Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel said in his national speech on the evening of the 13th: "In conversation, I told President Trump: 'Being unexpected is the foundation of success.'"

Netanyahu compared this stealth attack to another attack launched by Israel in Lebanon last September, when Israel used pagers and walkie-talkies embedded with explosives to target Hezbollah members.

But the core of these three military actions in Lebanon, Russia, and Iran was grueling and often fruitless intelligence gathering work, which might be prolonged and dangerous.

Farzin Saber, an analyst at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva who studies Iran and weapons systems, said: "Ultimately, drones are just tools, and their uses depend on human advancement and creativity. So this is a natural evolution; these cases are just a preview of the future."

Saber said that if drones could be smuggled into enemy territory in batches over time in disassembled parts, making them harder to detect, they would become a particularly attractive weapon in covert operations.

As drone warfare continues to evolve, so do the methods to counter drones. This may include low-tech solutions such as covering military equipment and other targets with sturdy shells; it may also include more advanced technologies, such as shooting down drones with weapons or interference.

Saber said that Iran has been developing a multi-layered air defense system that can "counter threats from all directions." If operational, it should be able to detect high-altitude attacks such as ballistic missiles as well as drone attacks launched nearby. It is unclear why this system did not work on the 13th.

But the similarity between Israel and Ukraine's drone smuggling operations suggests that this tactic will be emulated in other conflicts – at least until new, more concealed, and more powerful combat strategies emerge.

"This technology performed excellently in the Ukraine and Israel operations; it will expand the new applications of this technology," Saber said, "but in my opinion, the human wisdom contained in these actions is more valuable." (Translated/Compiled by Zhu Li)

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