IAI’s ROTEM. Photo: YouTube.

JNS.org – Israel Aerospace Industries recently performed ‎a ‎successful demonstration of its newest kamikaze ‎drone, dubbed “Rotem,” which is designed to carry out “suicide ‎missions” to ‎destroy enemy targets.

According to the company’s website, Rotem is a ‎lightweight, multi-rotor, lethal assault ‎drone with ‎vertical takeoff and ‎‎landing capabilities, making it ‎suitable for ‎‎intelligence, reconnaissance and ‎surveillance ‎‎missions, as well as for tactical ‎missions.‎

The drone has a range of up to 10 ‎kilometers (6.2 miles) and can hover for 30 to 45 ‎minutes before diving down at a speed of up ‎‎to 50 knots. It carries a ‎1-kilogram warhead‎, has a 1-meter ‎strike precision, and can be deployed ‎with one minute by a single soldier‎, making it ideal ‎against low-signature enemy systems in urban and ‎complex environments.‎

The drone folds into 38x7x5 ‎inches and ‎offers several automated modes to ensure accurate ‎execution of the mission as well as operational safety, the company said.

It said the test covered the drone’s “end-‎to-end capabilities,” including a rapid, precision ‎strike on a miniature target.

“The demonstration was ‎held under tough field and weather conditions, ‎highlighting the system’s ability to respond quickly ‎and effectively to a low-signature enemy in a ‎threatened space,” it said.‎

‎IAI Executive Vice President and General Manager Boaz ‎Levy said, ‎”The pilot in which we have proved the complete ‎capability range of the Rotem constitutes a quantum ‎leap.

‎”I believe that a drone that combines reconnaissance ‎and surveillance, terrain dominance, and a combination of ‎various sensors and assault capabilities adds ‎significant value to fighting forces, with an ‎emphasis on complex warfare situations that require ‎fast, accurate, and available response to ‎battlefield threats. The Rotem, with its multiple ‎capabilities, constitutes a unique platform for ‎enhancing land warfare.”‎