Israel’s Spike Firefly Drone is a Master of Urban Warfare
Israel has been at the forefront of understanding the often-radical changes in warfare over the last thirty years. The Spike Firefly drone is a testament to this.
Surprised and bloodied, the Israelis found themselves significantly on the backfoot following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) was tasked with hitting back against the terrorists—hard. Its responses were brutal but effective.
While the Israelis failed to get back most of the hostages that Hamas took on that fateful day, they sapped Hamas’ capacity to wage war.
A key reason why the IDF was so brutally effective in breaking the martial prowess of Hamas was due to the deployment of radical, dare I say even exotic, technologies. One of those rare weapons the IDF used with such effectiveness was the Israeli Maoz (aka, Spike Firefly) kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
A Sky Monster
This sky monster is described as a “coaxial rotor loitering munition drone” that was specifically designed for urban warfare. If I saw this thing at night or sundown, it might be easy to believe that little gray men from Zeta Reticuli were attacking rather than the IDF—that’s how bizarre this vertical, twin-bladed sky machine looks.
When the Israelis chose to move in force into the Gaza Strip, the overpopulated southern strip of territory along the Eastern Mediterranean Sea between the Sinai Peninsula and southern Israel, they ran smack dab into the dread of most modern militaries: urban warfare.
Built up and overflowing with people in varying states of poverty (and anger toward Israel), the IDF risked kicking over a veritable hornet’s nest going in there. But the Israelis persevered. And that was in large part due to the innovative tactics and technologies that the IDF employed against Hamas.
There is some dispute as to whether the Israelis did, in fact, deploy the Spike Firefly loitering munitions drone in Gaza. Although, one can assume that the system was used in the horrible fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. What is known is that the drone has been spotted engaging in operations in another terrorist hotspot where Israel is often conducting military operations, the West Bank city of Jenin.
Israel’s Spike Firefly drone is part of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ SPIKE family of precision-guided munitions. With their Spike Firefly, the Israelis are again offering the world a masterclass in what the next round of major wars will look like.
Indeed, the Spike Firefly is a model for the kind of network-centric warfare that will undoubtedly define the next great power conflict. That’s because the Spike Firefly shares real-time intelligence it gathers with other IDF elements, giving greater situational awareness to those advancing IDF elements.
The Specs
Spike Firefly carries a SPIKE NLOS (non-line-of-sight) missile and has a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability. In terms of surveillance capacity, it offers its users “beyond-line-of-sight” (BLOS) attack modes. In other words, this thing can kill you up close or far away. Spike Firefly can get you by seeing you or simply detecting you with sensors. What’s more, it is a semi-autonomous system. Spike Firefly can operate on its own or with a human operator in control.
As for some of its more advanced surveillance systems, it has dual infrared and electro-optical (EO) sensors. Again, its unique shape and relatively small size allow for it to not just loiter above buildings—the drone can pursue an enemy target into a building. This is the stuff of nightmares. Think of the opening scene from the original Terminator film, when the hero fighting the machines in the future is chased by a tiny flying machine that is utterly relentless in its quest to end his life.
Weighing in at 6.6 pounds and built for silent killing, there is a compartment that can carry a .77-pound bomb or an extra battery. In fact, that’s the only likely weakness of this drone: It has a limited battery life of around fifteen minutes. But the extra battery can be used to extend operational life to around thirty minutes (for reconnaissance missions).
Rafael says that the Spike Firefly has a topflight speed of 37 miles per hour and a diving speed of 43 mph, meaning this thing can come up on you fast. Further, its small size and silent running means you would be unlikely to even know it was over you until it was too late.
Israel has been at the forefront of understanding the often-radical changes in warfare over the last thirty years. The Spike Firefly drone is a testament to this. It is one of the most promising systems in the world and should be embraced not only more widely by the IDF but also by the United States and its allies.
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock.