Israel’s pioneering drones use free-falling, silent bombs
The remote-piloted drones relay video or drop bombs before returning to base, and the largest model of the aircraft can carry over a ton of munitions
Israeli armed drones use gravity bombs that make no noise or smoke as they fall, making them hard for enemies to anticipate or evade, according to its military.
After over 20 years of secrecy, Israel in July publicly acknowledged its pioneering armed drones developed as part of an array of stand-off surveillance and striking options.
In November 2022, an Israeli general detailed the two corps – air force and artillery – that operate the drones, both against Palestinian foes nearby and possibly targets as far as Iran.
Such drones are remote-piloted, relaying video or dropping bombs before returning to base, and the largest model of the aircraft can carry over one ton of munitions, a senior Israeli military officer told Reuters. They are distinct from the kamikaze drones that Iran said were used in a weekend attack on a defense plant in Isfahan, which was attributed to Jerusalem.
The officer said Israel’s armed drone fleet includes the passenger plane-sized Heron TP, made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, and the smaller Hermes by Elbit Systems.
Israeli manufacturers do not publicize the armed capabilities of their drones, under what industry sources have described as a Defense Ministry secrecy policy.
Israel has become one of the largest drone operators in the Middle East and a net exporter, with its capabilities closely tracked by the global defense industry, according to the Royal United Services Institute. The English think tank noted that despite deploying sophisticated armed drones, the majority of Israel's unmanned aerial vehicles are unarmed, given the main function of intelligence for ground forces.