Politico: Israel relies on US drones to search for hostages

The Israel Defense Forces are increasingly relying on inexpensive American-made drones to conduct hostage rescues and explore tunnels suspected to be used by militants as the country continues its military bombardment on the Gaza Strip.

It’s been widely reported that soldiers have used such technology to map and explore tunnels where militants and hostages may be. But now, companies are providing drones that can push further than before, potentially saving Israeli troops’ lives, Politico reports.

One of those companies is Shield AI, a defence tech startup created eight years ago by a former Navy Seal. In May, the company trained Israel on its quadcopters — small, inexpensive drones that can perform manoeuvres with agility — which allow the military to search potentially dangerous areas without risking lives.

“When Hamas invaded, we got immediate feedback that our quadcopter was used, it saved lives, and later we learned it was used on hostage rescue missions,” Brandon Tseng, co-founder and president of Shield AI, told NatSec Daily. “It’s a really, really challenging environment.”

Retrieving hostages taken by Hamas has been among Israel’s main objectives, but the equally difficult part is finding out where they’re being hidden. The militant group’s elaborate underground tunnel network in Gaza is too dangerous for IDF troops to explore on foot, not to mention the buildings where militants could be lurking.

That’s where the drones come in: “It’s like a self-driving car, but inside a compound,” Tseng said.

Hamas’ tunnel systems have been tough for Israel to locate. On Wednesday, Israel claimed to have uncovered a major Hamas command centre in Gaza — essential to its mission of destroying the cavernous network.

Exploring the pitch-black tunnels, however, is a perilous endeavour for troops. Israel has turned to drones as one solution. It has also resorted to pumping seawater in with hopes of driving the militants out.

South of Tel Aviv earlier this month, Blake Resnick, CEO of Brinc Drones, helped train Israeli troops on his company’s drones in a simulated urban environment — like many areas in the densely packed Gaza Strip — and a tunnel network. The problem with sending technology deep into the ground is that, surprise surprise, they lose signal pretty easily.

But Resnick’s drones can go further because they repeat each other’s signals.

“So, you can take off your first aircraft, start flying in a tunnel until it starts to lose signal, then you can land it. Then, you use that as a repeater and send in another drone to go deeper,” Resnick told NatSec Daily.

When multiple drones are used in this manner, the signal “breadcrumbs” back to the operator, allowing the drones to explore much further than troops could on foot, Resnick said. As the drone searches the tunnel, it generates “a map of the flying route,” sending back high-resolution videos and thermal footage in real-time, he added.

Israel’s use of the small and cheap, yet efficient, technology will likely increase throughout Israel’s war with Hamas, Simone Ledeen, the former deputy assistant defence secretary for the Middle East in the Trump administration, told NatSec Daily.

Such drones “can be carried in a soldier’s backpack,” she said, adding that they’re “critical in providing support with battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance.”