The IDF is establishing a factory that will produce first-person view (FPV) "suicide" drones, intended to employ approximately 200 haredi (ultra-Orthodox) soldiers, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.
The military has, so far, purchased FPV drones from an Israeli company, some of whose products are manufactured in China, the report noted.
However, these cost thousands of shekels per drone, and thus, the military is seeking to produce internally within the IDF's Technology and Logistics Directorate, Army Radio reported.
The first haredi recruits will join the factory in June after undergoing a technician training course. They will serve as drone assemblers, the report said.
The factory will then be able to supply the military with thousands of drones within two months, and to produce tens of thousands per month in the future, Army Radio reported.
FPV drones can be used for attack, defense
FPV drones can be used both for attack, as they are capable of carrying explosives, and for defending against other drones by intercepting them and detonating in a deliberate drone-on-drone crash.
The Army Radio report comes after the IDF has come under heavy attack by FPV drones operated by Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
Israeli companies contacted Defense Ministry, IDF to carry out field tests of drones, Defense and Tech understands
Developing such systems from scratch domestically may take months, by which point, a new threat will likely have developed, and such systems may become redundant. Several Israeli companies have already been producing systems to neutralize hostile drones. Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post understands that they have been in contact with the IDF and the Defense Ministry in order to field their systems.
While the IDF, Defense Ministry, and the ministry's Defense, Research, and Development Directorate (MAFAT) were told of the threat already hitting the battlefields of Ukraine, it seems that they ignored warnings that the threat would migrate to Israel’s borders.
There were also reports that FPV and fiber optic drones were used by Hamas during the opening wave of the October 7 massacre.