In a development that has sent shivers down the collective spine of Whitehall's finest, Hezbollah has taken to the skies with drones tethered by fibre-optic cables, like kites flown by a particularly vengeful child. These are not your granddad's drones, oh no. These are the kind that can loiter, observe, and possibly deliver a rather pointed message, all while being immune to the usual electromagnetic jamming that keeps the spooks awake at night.
Meanwhile, Britain's defence scientists, huddled over their laptops in a dank corner of Porton Down, are furiously scribbling notes from the Ukrainian playbook, desperate to find a way to cut the metaphorical string. One can almost hear the collective gasp from the Ministry of Defence as they realise that their expensive electronic warfare suites are about as useful as a chocolate teapot against a wire-guided nuisance. The irony is thick enough to slice: for all our talk of cyber warfare and stealth technology, a good old-fashioned cable might just be the thing that brings the whole house of cards tumbling down.
It's like watching a magician reveal that the trick was just a bit of string all along. The chaps in suits are now faced with a conundrum: how do you jam a signal that doesn't exist? How do you intercept a drone that communicates via a glorified bit of fishing line?
The answer, it seems, is to go back to basics, perhaps with a pair of very large scissors. But in the meantime, Hezbollah has given us all a masterclass in asymmetric warfare, proving that sometimes the most effective weapons are the ones that make your enemies look utterly ridiculous. As for our defence scientists, they'll be burning the midnight oil, trying to unravel this tangled web.
I suggest they start with a stiff gin and a long look in the mirror. The future of warfare, it appears, is firmly rooted in the past. And it's wearing a wire.
