Three Tu-143 high-speed reconnaissance drones have been photographed during ongoing Lebanese Army operations against Hezbollah.
On Sep. 23, 2024, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported the existence of converted Soviet-era jet-powered reconnaissance drones in the arsenal of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, calling it the DR-3, discovered during strikes across Lebanon. More than a year later, images of three units of the actual system, also known as the Tupolev Tu-143 Reys, were released by Al Jadeed News on Jan. 6, 2026.
The outlet said the images were taken during a Lebanese Army raid on an underground facility of the Iran-aligned and pro-Palestinian militia. Hezbollah, along with the Houthis and Hamas, is in the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Operations against Hezbollah by the Lebanese Army and Israel (the latter with air strikes) continued on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. Both parties have competing claims on the success and sincerity of the other’s operations, but are nevertheless aimed at Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Interesting pictures showing what looks like Russian Tu-143 Reys reconnaissance UAVs which were seized by the Lebanese army from a Hezbollah depot.
I guess they were from obtained from Syria.
Photos by @ALJADEEDNEWS pic.twitter.com/1ajKQhPZEq
— Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) January 6, 2026
Saying that the Lebanese Army “dismantled” a Hezbollah facility, and possibly unofficially quoting officials from the service, the post by Al Jadeed said: “Al-Jadeed obtained photos from inside a Hezbollah facility between Kafr Kamma and Siddiqin in the south, which the Lebanese Army had entered about two weeks ago, and it is a large facility that is still being dismantled up to this hour.”
Interesting pictures showing what looks like Russian Tu-143 Reys reconnaissance UAVs which were seized by the Lebanese army from a Hezbollah depot.
I guess they were from obtained from Syria.
Photos by @ALJADEEDNEWS pic.twitter.com/1ajKQhPZEq
— Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) January 6, 2026
As we will explain subsequently, the Tu-143 and the Tu-141 Strizh, a similar looking system, were also used by Ukraine, who got it from its older Soviet-era stocks, against Russian targets between late-2022 to mid-2023. Both systems are high-speed optical and electronic reconnaissance drones and are runway-independent, thanks to the rocket-assisted launch.
Their ready stockpile, cheaper and technically simpler – yet possibly not always successful – allows both mass and surgical strikes. With another non-state actor like the Houthis more successfully displaying how Western militaries can be overwhelmed with asymmetric capabilities, the latter have initiated their own programs to acquire that “affordable combat mass.”
Tu-141 Reys with Hezbollah
The image shows three units of the Tu-141/DR-3, with their front warhead sections missing. It is unclear whether they were found in that dismantled state or were deactivated by the Lebanese Army upon raiding the facility.
Generally, operators keep the warhead and delivery systems of large weapons separate to prevent accidents, or explosions during accidental launches. The Lebanese Army also did not report eventual firefights with Hezbollah cadres, at least in this particular raid.
במסגרת התקיפות הותקפו טילי שיוט המגיעים לטווח של מאות קילומטרים, רקטות עתירות משקל, רקטות קטלניות בעלי ראש נפץ של כ-1,000 קילוגרמים, רקטות קצרות טווח, כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים וחמושים מסוג ‘ציאד 107’>> pic.twitter.com/YoM9OfXmXj
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 23, 2024
The IDF’s September 2024 video of the strikes against Hezbollah showed how the weapon was hidden inside civilian structures. Israel could have possibly used munitions with man-in-the-loop control here, which include weapons like the Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Spice guided bombs, Delilah cruise missiles, or even the Harop kamikaze drone.
About how the Tu-143 ended up with Hezbollah, the most plausible explanation is the alliance with Russia and the deposed Assad regime in Syria. Lebanese Hezbollah commanders had claimed “directly receiving long-range tactical missiles, laser guided rockets, and anti-tank weapons” in its “no strings attached” relationship with Moscow, The Daily Beast reported in January 2016.
IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari exposing Hezbollah’s way of firing missiles from civilian homes, and how the IDF plans on dismantling it: pic.twitter.com/smkfjv6VDh
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 23, 2024
Syria was also aligned with the then Soviet Union during the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War. Within Lebanon, Hezbollah has a vast network of underground facilities to store its array of missiles and ordnance, that it advertised in a August 2024 publicity video.
Tu-143 Reys and Tu-141 Strizh use in Ukraine
The Tu-143 Reys and Tu-141 Strizh have appeared before in the Russia-Ukraine war. The latter emerged for the first time in photos of a wreckage on Mar. 8, 2022.
#Ukraine: We have managed to identifiy new wreckage, and can confirm a Ukrainian drone was shot down!
However, it’s not the TB-2, but the Cold war era Tupolev Tu-141 reconnaissance drone; note the landing gear/KR-17A engine.
Likely to be UA operated, but possible Russian decoy. pic.twitter.com/MOP454BWPH
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) March 8, 2022
The drone that crashed in #Zagreb last night came into #Croatia from Hungary flying at 700km/h at altitude of 1300 meters.
No casualties reported, still unclear who launched the soviet-era drone. pic.twitter.com/fFMWjBr2EG
— Based Croatia (@Based_Croatia) March 11, 2022
Then on Mar. 11, 2022, another crashed in Croatia, with observers later identifying the pilotless flying aircraft as the Soviet-era Tu-141 Strizh. On that occasion, the official Croatian statement said that the unmanned aircraft flew in from Ukraine, flying at over 500 knots and at 1,300 meters (about 4,000 feet) of altitude.
The Tu-143 Reys meanwhile made its first appearance on Apr. 12, 2022, after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced three days later its air defense systems shot it down. Subsequent images of shoot downs appeared on Jun. 29, 2022 near the Kursk Oblast.
The biggest strikes took place on Dec. 5, 2022, and Dec. 26, 2022, on Russia’s Engels and Dyagilevo air bases, when Russia claimed Ukraine used the Tu-141 Strizh. This was followed by a Strizh crash in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast on Feb. 6, 2023, and Feb. 8, 2023, at Tuapse in the Krasnodar region, while allegedly attempting to strike an oil depot.
#Ukraine: A Ukrainian Tu-143 Reys unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by the Russian forces in #Kharkiv. Such obsolete drones are believed to be used to draw out positions of enemy air defense systems. pic.twitter.com/Ix9FhOMe4N
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) April 12, 2022
The goals behind their use against Russia have been assessed from long-range, high-speed, ground-launched surface-strike missiles and baits/decoys for air defense systems – either for follow-on strikes, or identifying the location of Russia’s anti-air batteries. Russia had also alleged Ukraine modified the Strizh with U.S. help following the Feb. 6, 2023, attack.
Zvezda, a RuMoD publication, specifically accused U.S. defense major Raytheon and Ukrainian state defense export company Ukoroboronprom collaborating to tweak the Tu-141 Strizh’s navigation system. RuMoD had attributed these downings to a mix of dedicated air defense fire, electronic warfare (EW) jamming, and organic failure within the drones themselves.
#Russia: A Ukrainian Tu-143 Reys unmanned aircraft was shot down above #Kursk Oblast this night.
There are reports that these obsolete drones were adapted to carry explosives and now used as Ersatz-ballistic missiles with a range of more than 100km. pic.twitter.com/2TpALhGylB
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) June 29, 2022
Reys and Strizh
Around 150 Tu-141 Strizh units were produced at the Kharkiv aircraft plant between 1979 and 1989, two years before the Soviet Union dissolved. The units going to Ukraine were incorporated into the 321st Separate UAV Squadron based in Odessa.
A Ukrainian UAV (reportedly a Tu-141 Strizh) crashed in Kaluga after hitting trees. It was carrying an OFAB-100-120 high-explosive bomb. https://t.co/AaPulpwUOQhttps://t.co/ZIWK10TzE5https://t.co/IgnfV86zII pic.twitter.com/cSKv9Nc9oA
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 6, 2023
With a maximum speed of 1,110 km/hour, a top service ceiling of 19,685 feet (6,000 meters), and a range of up to 1,000 km, the high-speed reconnaissance aircraft carried electro-optical devices, infrared imagers, and imaging radars. It could fly and return along pre-programmed routes in its navigation system.
Imad 4: Hezbollah reveals its underground capabilities.
Huge tunnels inside mountaintops, dozens of rocket launchers. pic.twitter.com/NKP0Ydl57E
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 16, 2024
The Tu-143 Reys meanwhile is a smaller, scaled-down system, with TV, optical, electro-magnetic and infrared sensors, with both drones being recovered via a parachute. It is eight meters long, a wing span of 2.24 meters, weighs 1,230 kg, a top speed of 950 km/hour, service ceiling of 1,000 meters. The IDF says it has a range of 124 miles (200 km) and can deliver a 600-pound (300 kg) warhead.
