Israel firstly deploys urban kamikaze drone against Hamas brigade

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has for the first time in an offensive operation deployed a cutting-edge loitering drone in Gaza last week.

IDF soldiers exposed and struck a terrorist cell using the Rafael Spike Firefly drone in the Shejaiya neighborhood on December 15, the Defense Post reported citing an article by The Jerusalem Post.

According to the Israeli publication, Hamas’ Shejaiya brigade headquarters was destroyed during the operation, killing an unspecified number of militants.

A recent video uploaded by the Palestinian TubasTimes Telegram channel shows the drone being used in the West Bank city of Jenin.

The 3-kilogram drone is designed for urban environments and armed with a 350-gram fragmentation or shaped charge warhead. It has a range of 500 meters in urban areas and double that in the open and an endurance of 15 and 30 minutes, depending upon a configuration of one or two battery packs.

The tube-shaped coaxial rotorcraft features dual infrared and electro-optical seeker and proximity sensors to detect, identify, and track agile targets.

Rafael, the Israeli manufacturer described the Firefly as having been “designed to be used for the dismounted soldier fighting within the dense urban areas where situational awareness is limited, the enemy is fighting from behind cover and the effectiveness of fire support elements is reduced by the close proximity of noncombatants”.