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 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.