Click to see full-size image. (IAI)
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and U.S. firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer have completed a live-fire test of a drone armed with a machine gun, demonstrating a system designed to combine aerial surveillance, target identification and direct fire support for ground forces.
The companies announced the successful test on October 13, saying the FIRE STORM 250 hovered over a simulated battlefield, identified targets using an onboard camera and fired at them from different distances and altitudes. The system demonstrated single-shot and semiautomatic firing modes during the trial.
The FIRE STORM 250 combines an Israeli-made APUS 60 vertical-takeoff-and-landing quadcopter with SIG Sauer’s MICROLIGHT remotely controlled weapon station and M250 light machine gun. The system is designed to operate from forward positions without a runway or dedicated aviation infrastructure.
According to IAI, the drone can remain airborne for up to three hours while carrying 200 rounds of ammunition. Its internal-combustion engine can use multiple fuel types and be refueled in the field, reducing dependence on battery-charging facilities. The complete weapon assembly, including the remotely controlled mount, machine gun and ammunition, weighs about 24 kilograms.
Israel has previously used smaller drones equipped with guns in Gaza, where similar systems have been reported firing directly at people on the ground. In a November 2024 report, NPR documented accounts from Palestinian eyewitnesses who described Israeli forces using armed quadcopters to shoot at individuals in residential areas.
The FIRE STORM 250 is designed to give tactical units persistent aerial observation and an additional source of firepower without the need to deploy a crewed platform.
IAI has identified close air support, border security, suppressive fire, force protection and surveillance among its potential missions. The companies say operators retain control over firing decisions, using real-time imagery and target-tracking information to determine when to engage.
The technology could, however, also be used to target specific individuals, including in targeted killings or assassination operations.
The drone reflects a broader effort to integrate surveillance and weapons on the same unmanned platform, allowing operators to move from detecting a target to engaging it without transferring targeting information to a separate weapon system.
Its development also highlights how techniques associated with smaller armed quadcopters used in Gaza are being incorporated into purpose-built military systems.
Moshe Levy, executive vice president and general manager of IAI’s Military Aircraft Group, said the test demonstrated the potential to integrate sensing, decision-making and action within a single operational system.
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in the end, they are creating cowards who will easily be defeated when their technology fails.