IDF drone

The military still permits the widespread and unregulated use of Chinese technology, including drones used by troops at the IDF's frontline operational edge.

The greatest future value of a military drone will not come only from how well it flies. It will come from how well it connects.

On a tour of the Negev, I learned that the threat is not just the smuggling of weapons over Israel’s borders via drones – some of which can carry 150 kilograms of arms – but the drones themselves. 

At least 28 drones reportedly entered Gaza in recent months, raising concerns they reached Hamas, despite the IDF thwarting 89 drone smuggling attempts since January, according to Army Radio.

The system can operate across several ranges, from 50 km for protecting airports and bases down to 200 meters as a soldier-portable system to protect maneuvering forces at their staging areas.

How a thread of glass made the West's most advanced air defenses useless, and dragged it back to a war it thought it had escaped

"The forces understand that the only way for us to succeed is to hunt the drone operators and kill them," the senior officer said.

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The IDF emphasized that none of its soldiers were operating in the area when the attack occured.