The Ababil-2, developed in the 1990s, has rudimentary surveillance capabilities and can be used as a loitering munition, but is mainly used as a target drone.

Jane's reports that the Ababil program was begun at Qods Aviation Industries in 1986 and the first delivery was in 1993.

[6] It is powered by a simple two-bladed pusher propeller with a rear-mounted wing and a front canard for good stall, stability and maneuverability characteristics.

[6] The Ababil-2 can be launched from a zero-length JATO platform or a Mercedes Benz 911 pneumatic truck launcher.

[6] The rocket launch system can be used from a ship deck and can be assembled or broken down for portability.

For recovery, a parachute provides a descent rate of 4 m/s, or skids can be used for conventional landings on a runway or field.

[6] The Ababil-B's mission payloads are acoustic miss-distance-indicators, Infrared devices, and radar reflectors.

[12] It has been solely operated by Yemeni Houthis, who have mostly used it to attack the radar components of MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles.

[11] The Ababil-3 is a complete redesign of the Ababil with an improved airframe used solely for surveillance: it carries better equipment and can stay aloft for longer.

The Ababil-3 is thought to be based on the South African Denel Dynamics Seeker, and possibly the Seeker-2D model in particular.

[19] Analysis of an Ababil-3 downed over ISIS-held territory in Iraq, apparently due to mechanical failure, finds that the Ababil-3 is built out of composite materials.

[20] The powerplant had plain-surfaced cylinder heads; it was unclear if the engine was manufactured in Iran or China.

[20] There were also a number of defects in the downed Ababil-3 model, which could suggest poor manufacture or handling in the field.

[4] The Ababil-3's max airspeed is 200 km/h (120 mph), its range is 100 km (62 mi) (roundtrip), and it has a service ceiling of 5,000 m (16,000 ft).

[23] Syrian Armed Forces use it for targeting high-precision heavy artillery strikes with Krasnopol, and multiple ISTAR or combat drone roles.

The third Ababil deployed by Hezbollah was shot down by another F-16 hours later just inside Israel's northern border.

[34] On 16 March 2009, an American F-16 operating in Iraq shot down an Iranian Ababil 3 drone on 25 February 2009 that had been flying through Iraqi airspace for "almost an hour and 10 minutes.

Officials at Iraq's Defence and Interior ministries suggested that the drone might have been scouting for routes to smuggle Iranian weapons into the country.

[37] Abdul Aziz Mohammed Jassim, head of military operations at the Iraqi defence ministry stated that since the drone, "crossed 10 km into Iraq, it's most likely that its entrance was a mistake.

[42] On 14 December 2014, Hamas militants flew an unmanned air vehicle over a parade in the Gaza Strip marking the 27th anniversary of the organization's establishment.

[44] Houthi rebels have operated Ababil-T loitering munitions under the name "Qasef-1" to target Saudi and Emirati radar batteries.

According to the Houthis, a new variant of the drone named "Qasef-2K" has been designed to explode from a height of 20 meters in the air and rain shrapnel down on its target and has been used to kill 6 people in the coalition controlled Al Anad Air Base in Yemen.

[45] Najran, 840 km southwest of Riyadh on the Saudi-Yemen border also has been receiving Houthi drone attacks.

[46] After the Houthi attack on Saudi oil infrastructure on 14 September 2019, Saudi Arabia tasked F-15 fighter jets armed with missiles to intercept low flying drones, difficult to intercept with ground based high altitude missile systems like the MIM-104 Patriot[47] with several drones being downed since then.