British and US intelligence 'hacked into Israeli drones'

GCHQ and the NSA 'watched in real time' as Israel bombed Gaza and monitored for any sign of any Israeli attack against Iran, according to reports

Israel Aerospace Industries unveils the new Super Heron drone, Israel
7 Feb 2014
The Israeli Super Heron drone Credit: Photo: Rex

British and US intelligence hacked Israeli drones' video feeds, allowing them to watch in real time as Israel bombed Gaza and spied on Syria, according to documents leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

GCHQ and its US counterpart, the NSA, also monitored the drone footage in the hope of getting an early warning if Israel was attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.

An Israeli soldier with a drone during a military operation to search for three missing Israeli teenagers near the West Bank city of Hebron, 14 June 2014.

The revelations, reported by The Intercept, are the latest in a series of examples of how the US and Israel profess friendship in public but also spy intensively on each other.

They may heighten tensions between the two countries, which are already at odds over the Iranian nuclear deal and Israel's settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.

The hacking programme, codenamed Anarchist, also appears to confirm a badly kept secret: that Israeli drones carry missiles and are used in lethal strikes.

Israel has never publicly confirmed it has armed drones but the footage appears to show a Heron drone, one of the world's largest unmanned aircraft, carrying missiles.

Britain, the US and Pakistan are the only other countries thought to have carried out deadly drone strikes.

The data for the hacking programme was collected by a GCHQ monitoring station at RAF Troodos in the mountains Cyprus. The base is only around 200 miles from the coast of Israel.

 an Israeli Heron TP surveillance drone, 2010

The hacked feeds were then monitored at RAF Menwith Hill, an NSA base in North Yorkshire, according to the Intercept.

In at least one instance, the hackers were able to access the feed of a manned Israel F-16 fighter jet. The interception was made in January 2008, as Israel exchanged fire in Gaza with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.

A GCHQ report said the move allowed Britain and the US to monitor one of the world's most volatile regions in real-time.

“In times of crisis this access is critical and one of the only avenues to provide up to the minute information and support to US and Allied operations in the area.”

The US and UK appear to have monitored Israeli drones during the 2008-2009 Gaza War, in which 13 Israelis and more than a thousand Palestinians were killed.

A Super Heron HF drone, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI), stands on display on the opening day of the 51st International Paris Air Show in Paris, France, on Monday, June 15, 2015. The 51st International Paris Air Show is the world's largest aviation and space industry exhibition and takes place at Le Bourget airport June 15 - 21.

The hackers were also tasked with accessing Israeli drones flying over the Golan Heights but also unmanned aircraft belonging to the Syria regime.

In one case in early 2012, the Anarchist hackers got footage from an Iranian-made drone operated by the Assad regime. An accompanying US document says there was "Presidential level interest" in the intercept.

British and American military planners were deeply concerned that Israel might carry out a unilateral strike against Iran's nuclear programmes and saw the hacking programme as a way to get an early warning.

“Our ability to collect and track and report this activity is important for the initial detection and tip-off for any potential pre-emptive or retaliatory strike against Iran,” according to one GCHQ document.

The Foreign Office declined to comment. Israel's foreign ministry declined to comment.