(NewsNation) — Israel has deployed a radar blimp along its border with Lebanon in response to escalating tensions with Hezbollah.
The blimp is equipped with high-tech radar systems capable of detecting cruise missiles, drones and the movement of military vehicles on the ground up to 155 miles away.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hope the blimp, dubbed “Sky Dew,” will save Israel in costly radar plane flights while also protecting soldiers who are often targets of missile and drone strikes.
Why a blimp?
Sky Dew, or “Tal Shamaim,” can carry 7,000 pounds and operate at an altitude of 10,000 feet, Business Insider reported.
Despite its size and visibility, blimps like Sky Dew are “really only vulnerable when you bring it down for maintenance,” said John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point.
“This allows you to see very clearly what is going on rather than leading to misinterpretations,” Spencer said on “NewsNation Now.”
The blimp is one of the largest observation balloons of its kind and came into Israel’s possession in 2022, according to a report from the Jewish Press.
Why are they fighting?
Israel and Iran-backed political party and militant group Hezbollah are longtime foes.
Recently, fighting broke out along Israel’s northern border when Hezbollah began firing rockets in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that launched the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Hezbollah says its attacks aim to ease pressure on the Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting an unprecedented ground, air and sea offensive meant to topple Hamas and return some 129 people held captive in the territory.
Lebanon so far has fired more than 1,700 rockets toward Israel, killing 15 Israelis, including nine soldiers, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli military. More than 150 people were injured, according to the IDF.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling have killed nearly 160 people in Lebanon, according to an Associated Press tally. Most of those were fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups. At least 19 civilians also died, including journalists and children.
Why now?
The blimp is a sign of growing tension, Spencer said.
“The balloon gives you such an advanced capability to keep a consistent eye and radar in the sky, where(as) something like a drone has limitations,” he said. “It’s also a sign of trying to keep the tension low.”
A senior Hamas official died last week in a targeted assassination in Beirut, The Guardian reported.
President Biden has dispatched his top aides to the Middle East to prevent a war from erupting between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the Washington Post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.