Fighters from the Duvdevan and Maglan special forces used suicide drones manufactured by Rafael, containing small amounts of explosives, to hit terrorist targets in the vicinity of the “refugee” camp in Jenin during Operation Home and Garden earlier this week, Ynet reported Thursday night.
In total, six FIREFLY suicide drones, made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems were used during the operation. Rafael describes FIREFLY as a “tactical weapon system that’s a revolutionary, innovative miniature electro-optical tactical loitering munition designed for light maneuvering ground forces such as Infantry, Marines or Special Forces.”
The key word here, as in all Kamikaze drones, is “loitering.” The suicide drone can hover above its target area for long periods, to be used whenever the ground forces need it. It weighs only 3kg and presumably can pack a whole lot more than the small loads of explosives that were used this week.
The targets that were attacked were the terrorists’ observation and control posts around the “refugee” camp, which themselves contained dozens of explosive devices. The result befitted a 4th of July operation.
The FIREFLIES exploded safely, by remote control. The IDF noted that this was the first test in an attack on real targets for this advanced weapon, and all six hits were a success.
In the future, the IDF will not hesitate to use FIREFLY to attack and eliminate terrorists.
According to Rafael, “FIREFLY was designed for the dismounted soldier fighting within the urban arena where situational awareness is limited, the enemy is behind cover, and precision is critical. The impact of FIREFLY on the Infantry is revolutionary, fundamentally changing small Infantry tactics.
Anything to make sure our enemies are killed and our soldiers come back unharmed.
