Sébastien Le Belzic, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: ALEXI J. ROSENFELD / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
While Israel’s offensive against Hamas began almost three months ago, the IDF is slowly advancing in Gaza, hampered by this maze of galleries where the terrorists hide to fight them. Faced with this, the Israelis are using a new secret weapon: mini quadcopter drones.
Stealth and maneuverable drones, the new weapon present in all theaters of operations and particularly in the Middle East. The Israeli army uses them to explore tunnels in the Gaza Strip. Nearly three months after the start of the offensive against Hamas, the IDF is slowly advancing in Gaza, hampered by this maze of galleries where the terrorists hide to fight them. To do this, the Israelis are using a new secret weapon: mini quadcopter drones.
Avoid traps and ambushes
Consumer drones sold for a few thousand euros and barely transformed by the Israeli army to serve as the vanguard of the soldiers who search the bowels of Gaza. A maze of tunnels stretching several hundred kilometers and strewn with traps that robots and dogs, commonly used, struggle to cross. These four-rotor mini drones are the cheapest and most effective option for exploring these tunnels and preventing soldiers from falling into traps or ambushes set by Hamas.
During their flight, these drones create a three-dimensional model of their environment, using artificial intelligence and without resorting to satellite positioning such as GPS, which is inaccessible underground. They then explore the tunnels completely autonomously in order to send information to the units remaining on the surface in the form of a three-dimensional map. Israeli military officials believe that these drones are important allies in this war and that they have already made it possible to considerably limit the number of victims in the ranks of the IDF.