In a previous issue of The Magazine, the history of drones and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) was outlined. Here, we will discuss the various types and uses of drones.
Different drones for different jobs
According to Chris Woods in his book History of Armed Drones, a drone platoon generally consists of large strategic drones at the top, with smaller drones for reconnaissance, and mini-drones designated as suicide drones. They have become a profound part of common warfare.
There are indoor drones, built for scouting in tight places, like the one that found Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and outdoor drones that fly high above the ground. Like soldiers in a troop, different drones in a military fleet have distinct capabilities, thus each is assigned a different job. Communications advances are being made to enable the various drones to work together.
Combat drones
Combat drones can drop explosives or dive bomb onto particular targets. Designed for offensive operations, including airstrikes and precision targeting, combat drones are small unmanned aircraft, typically weighing between 1,000 and 5,000 kg., which include all add-ons and weaponry, called “payload” in drone speak.
With a wingspan of between 10 and 20 meters generally, these drones are equipped with precision-guided munitions and are capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous missions. The majority of combat drones are fixed-wing (non-propeller) due to their efficiency in long-range and high-speed operations; there are also rotary-wing and hybrid combat drones. Each design has its advantages and is suited for different operational needs.
“All drones are subject to Israeli laws and regulations administered by the Civil Aviation Authority. For example, anyone can use a drone under 250 gr. for fun and without a drone pilot license with a number of other restrictions on location and height, especially near airports,” said Shai Spetgang, Israeli licensed drone pilot and trainer. Spetgang is also the COO of STEM-Up Israel and Israel Drone Incubator (IDI), an Israeli mentorship collective of drone, robotics, and technology companies at the forefront of Israeli defense infrastructure.
“All other uses of any sized drone require a civilian drone pilot license. For example, taking pictures for a real estate company, construction company, and others [uses, such as] flying a drone in these cases are considered a commercial service, even if the person does not get paid to do the flying. It is not so hard today to get a drone pilot license online from the Civil Aviation Authority.”
Tactical drones
The mass production of Chinese off-the-shelf dual-usage consumer drones not only influenced the consumer market but also greatly affected military use. These drones, generally smaller, operated via remote control and sent up in the air by propellers, can carry a payload that can range from sensors to cameras to communications devices; or, in the case of kamikaze drones, RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) or other explosive devices that can be dropped or flown into a specific target.
Smaller drones can scope out caves and tunnels and even be directed into small spaces like closets to see who or what might be hiding there. “There are also drone attachments such as the Drone Rover by 3D Treasure Hunter, which can detect mines and underground tunnels up to 25 meters,” says Spetgang.
Just as easily as they can be sent up in the air to videotape the aerial view of a concert, event, or wedding, they can also fly higher to record visual data, track the movement of troops, or identify potential missile sites. Reconnaissance and weaponized drones are even being built to look like birds, insects, and other creatures, making them harder for the enemy to track.
Used for short-range missions by ground units, these smaller drones are portable and are either hand- or catapult-launched, weighing between one and 10 kg., with wingspans ranging from one to three meters. Some are built for indoor deployment, and others for outdoor tasks. The army has courses for drone pilots that certify them to fly army drones on missions.
Drobots: Israeli company Flyz Robotics offers a Drobot, which is capable of landing and attaching to vertical and uneven surfaces, using a mechanism that analyzes the surface material, orientation, and line of sight. Because it doesn’t hover, it is energy efficient and can be used for extended service durations.
Flyz drones can also deploy and retrieve sensors or devices. The dual-usage drones mass-produced by China are quadcopters (drones with four propellers). Larger propeller drones can have six or eight propellers.
Vipers: One innovative design is the drone family of Vipers, lightweight quadcopters encapsulated in a missile-like container, created by top military drone Israeli start-up Spear UAV. The lightest in the line is 450 gr., which includes its payload. These drones are grenades launched to a distance of five km. and can remain airborne for 25 minutes at a time. As Vipers are encased in protective capsules, a soldier can fit several of them in a combat vest or hang them from a tactical belt.
According to Yiftach Kleinman, deputy CEO and EVP at Spear UAV, Vipers can also swim, surface, and then release their payload. “Spear UAV is the first and only company that launches UAVs from a submerged submarine,” explains Kleinman. “The vehicle remains in its capsule, which floats to sea level and launches from the capsule. The submarine capsule can secure itself while it is not exposed, providing fresh intelligence to team members in great detail, including information that cannot even be received by satellite in a stealth mode.”
Kleinman’s company is working to apply the huge revolution of drones not as a toy but as a low-cost, very effective military machine.
The Rooster system, developed by Robotican, a company dedicated to the development of robotic platforms and market requirements, was developed to address two main issues. Firstly, to provide a quick response, faster than any other robotic platform. And secondly, to enable communication within complex urban areas.
Mandy Rosenzweig, VP sales and business development for Robotican, says that communication is difficult from drone to drone and from drone to operator. The “Rooster employs a mesh technology,” he explains. “Every unit we have can be augmented by another drone to extend the distance of communication.
“The system analyzes three images at a time. The first Rooster explores the tunnel, room, or building. A remote commander has a meter that tells you how strong your signal is. The second unit bypasses the first one, flying another 450 meters, and goes through the first one, creating a drone network. A basic system is three Roosters. Unlike single drones, turns in tunnels or buildings do not affect the signal,” says Rosenzweig.
“The Rooster system also can maneuver on the ground, as well as in the air. It uses less power consumption on the ground – tripling or quadrupling the operational time. The technology is 100% developed and manufactured here in Israel, specifically for the military, defense, and safety inspections,” he adds.
Rooster also has the ability to whip up dirt and, using a sensor to analyze the dust, can check the area for chemicals or hazardous elements in the soil or air.
Mesh drones such as South Korea’s Nes and Tech and Griffin have a network of drones, containing a mothership that goes one kilometer into the air and is tethered, which allows a mesh network swarm of smaller jamming and anti-jamming drones to operate around the mothership. The mothership functions as a coordinate without needing GPS.
South Korea has developed Lifter Drones, which can lift up to 120 kg. (the weight of an average soldier). These 500 kg. propeller drones lift off vertically, functioning as transport vehicles, enabling people or equipment to perch on a platform. This would be a boon to rescue and recovery operations.
Axon, an American company that started out manufacturing tasers, and later on body cameras, digital evidence management systems, and cloud-based software, recently partnered with Swiss company LOKI and introduced a drone built for indoor close-quarter scouting.
According to Axon’s website, the drone was created “to place a microphone and a camera practically anywhere to collect critical life-saving intelligence of immediate threats ahead of a team.”
Mover drones
Mover drones, more of a robot that operates with wheels on the ground or in the air, moves gear, supplies, and people through the battlefield. Movers can manipulate many kilos of payload, some on the ground and others in the air. This is beneficial in search and rescue operations.
An example of an Israeli mover drone is the Cormorant, developed by Israel’s Tactical Robotics, designed for autonomous cargo delivery and evacuation missions in challenging terrains. It can transport up to 500 kg. of cargo within a 50 km. radius, making it suitable for resupplying operations and casualty evacuations in hostile environments.
Back to China. It has developed the CH-YH1000. Known as the “pickup truck of the sky,” it is able to carry as much as one ton of cargo.
Bavarian company Avilus has introduced Grille, the flying stretcher that can pick up wounded soldiers without endangering the lives of rescue staff. During the drone evacuation, it transmits key vital signs, including heart and respiratory rates, via telemetric monitoring devices to physicians, who can communicate with the wounded via a speaker. Using a drone to evacuate wounded soldiers can protect the lives of helicopter pilots and medical staff, as well as other soldiers.
War has become a video game
According to Woods, through each major conflict, drone tactics and strategies evolved and changed. “Libya was in a stalemated civil war that was sustained by Russia,” he recalls. “The stalemate was broken when Turkey used drones on Haftar’s forces. Then there was Armenia-Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan used Turkish drones to recapture its territory. Turkey lent their armed drones to create a devastating effect. It was a brilliant strategic use.”
Woods asserts that the Libyan civil war was a wake-up call. Rebel forces were pushed out by the drones. Valve allowed forces to use them to break enemy lines. In Ukraine, both sides were using drones to save pilots’ lives. Each had impressive air defenses that would endanger pilots. Drones were the answer.
Armed drones are extremely important. They were used to go deep inside Russia with drones that were never expected to return home but were able to strike military bases. The Russian Black Sea fleet was devastated by armed drone boats. Drone warfare is no longer confined to the air. Any remotely piloted vehicle can be called a drone.
As we progress, the drone pilot will be the enemy. One drone pilot can kill hundreds of soldiers. “War has become a video game,” says Woods.
Drone technology – work in progress
“Our incubator understands that drones are the next step in every battlefield scenario,” says Jessica Zandani, founder and CEO of STEM-Up Israel and Israel Drone Incubator.
“While drones are the main part of robotics, they need synergy with other systems to incorporate other emerging technologies. Our goal is to be independent. We have the technology and innovation, and we want to use it to protect our country.”
Here are some of the technologies being addressed by the dozen companies that have so far joined the IDI to improve the sector:
1. Battery life. Where is your next power source? In the near future, small nuclear batteries will be available, eliminating the short (10-minute to three-hour) battery life issue for drones. But today’s drones have a problem – how do you recharge? There are only so many batteries a soldier can bring along, and there aren’t too many outlets in the heart of the countryside.
Not all army battalions have a Humvee or a generator to plug into. Solar generators can be used but tend to be bulky; or, if lightweight, they are expensive. Tethering, mesh technology, as well as techniques to attach the sensors or cameras to walls, allow the drone to conserve battery power by not spending all its time hovering.
2. Spyware, hijacked, and hackable remotes. Anyone with a computer can order a remote-control unit that has the ability to hijack an off-the-shelf drone. “If you can buy it at Walmart, it shouldn’t be flown on the battlefield,” says Zandani. “That is why hobby drones do not belong on the battlefield.”
3. Portability and ease of deployment. Soldiers transporting drones need ones that are lightweight and easy to deploy. Quadcopters do not come with easy-to-transport cases. Deploying something heavy in a suitcase is impractical for the rocky battlefield. “It’s like a Samsonite from hell,” Zandani says. Up-and-coming drone designers are taking this into consideration and are creating more streamlined and easy-to-launch models.
4. Drone “drops” and “falls” and shootings. According to Kleinman, 95% of drones will crash and/or fall. “We don’t have the manpower to fix them, and that is what Stem-Up Israel is trying to create,” explains Zendani. “Most smaller manufacturers don’t have massive factories to store parts, create replacement parts, and refurbish fallen drones.
“Next-generation drones may improve in terms of drops, but if we have the ability to replace parts and refurbish fallen drones, that will be an effective and sustainable solution. Our goal is to have a three-day turnaround,” she says. “We are also working on air defense systems for drones. We need to address ways to protect the drone in the field. Even putting drone defense systems into its own hands.”
5. Communications issues. Have you ever been to Eilat, only to have Waze tell you that you are “really” in Egypt or Amman? Jamming is the deliberate interference with a drone’s communication or navigation systems using electronic signals. The goal of jamming is to disrupt the drone’s ability to receive commands from its operator or to navigate accurately, forcing it to land, return home, or lose control.
Radio frequency (RF) jamming targets the communication link between the drone and its operator, blocking signals in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequencies, the bands used by most drones. GPS jamming disrupts the drone’s ability to determine its location by blocking signals from GPS satellites. An advanced attack called “spoofing” sends fake signals to deceive the drone, making it think it is in a different location.
One of the reasons for drone failure is when radio frequencies are intercepted and taken over by other devices. We can accidentally jam our own signals. According to Kleinman, “To overcome jamming, you must either use devices to neutralize the jamming (which are not very effective) or navigate without GPS, using inertial navigational systems or image processing.”
David Harel, CEO of Asio Technologies, recently introduced the AeroGuardian vision-based navigation system that is independent of GPS or connectivity with the drone. He points out that when you scramble communications, you also interfere with your own systems. He says anyone can purchase a jammer on the Internet for $100 that can create problems for any platform that uses GPS.
“That is why this technology is focused on vision-based navigation,” Harel explains. “It is cutting-edge machine vision with advanced optics. Using day and night vision sensors installed in the belly of the drone, it analyzes videos, comparing real-time with digital images previously taken.
“It is jam-proof, since it doesn’t rely on any signals. And it takes up very small real estate in the drone. It uses low power consumption. It is risk-free. Automatic. Like a pilot flying a plane visually.” He adds that since all drones are susceptible to jamming on the battlefield, an alternative navigation system is essential. 6. Optic systems. One of the key tasks of any drone is surveillance. While drones can carry cameras for a bird’s-eye view, to create a comprehensive look, ideally drone cameras must interface with nearby drone cameras, as well as fixed cameras. Alisa Givertz is an engineer and co-founder of Liquid360, a company that has created a fluid connection from one camera to another. She established the company after her five-year-old daughter went missing in a hotel.
“Although there were cameras in the hotel, there was no way of tracking her,” she explains. “Liquid360 allows us to measure distances and follow people, pinpointing their location instead of simply showing where the person was ‘last seen.’”
As a member of IDI, Liquid360 builds a model of any site – its interior, and exterior. The operator clicks on what he or she wants to see, and the software chooses which camera is required, allowing the operator to see the whole picture, what Zandani calls “camera-hopping,” dubbing it “the next breakthrough for drones.”
7. Geofencing. This technology creates an invisible fence that alerts command centers in villages and cities if there is any kind of infiltration, drone or otherwise. Every drone number is registered on a network, and when crossing the geofence, it can be immediately identified as friend or foe, alerting the area to enemy drone infiltration.
The geofence can also protect the power supply and communication lines of the area it surrounds, since it has its own power source; so while cameras on fences can go down if a physical fence is breached, the geofence maintains security, enabling drone cameras to still work.
Drones + AI = superpower
As AI is integrated into drone technology, a powerful military tool is created. The career military expert we consulted (who declined to be named) chides, “When you see tenth graders using ChatGPT to do their homework, do not say they are cheating or lazy. It’s actually very good. Instead of wasting time sitting in the library to find one sentence in the middle of a very large book, now they can ask the computer for information, and it brings them exactly what they are looking for.”
This, he says, is efficient and focused. “Today’s teenagers should be focused on technology and educated on how to interact with today’s system and ask the correct questions to find specific information. They can use the time we used to waste on other things, like poring over books in the library, wisely.
“The use of next-generation’s technology is very near. The answers are here. Maybe not 100%, but as you can see, every company using AI is developing more capabilities, better processing time, and more. AI is being used to analyze CTs and MRIs. Today’s AI can use capabilities to flag problems and only then hand it over to the human eye for human analysis.”
He says, “The whole world should look at start-ups and work like they do. The revolution started with the military and has paved the way for commercial uses.”
Drones are being built to incorporate AI. Not only can drones survey an area, but as the data is analyzed, they incorporate facial recognition and potential threat recognition; and based on AI, they can identify traps and hot spots. AI can pick up anomalies that can save lives, giving soldiers a 15-second warning on anti-tank missiles coming toward them.
Experts warn that while AI is key and is changing the face of drone warfare, we still need a human assessment before a drone is activated to pull a trigger, which is a war crime.
“This renaissance started before the war in Ukraine,” explains Major B., head of the drone section of the IDF Lotar unit, a specialized counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit. “Now every country is starting to deal with that. That, combined with the AI revolution, is one of the biggest advancements in history. It’s an industrial revolution, and drones are just the beginning.”