Israel plans to produce around 100,000 attack drones annually, turning small, low-cost drones into a core weapon for ground forces. The wars in Ukraine and Lebanon showed they can perform missions once requiring more expensive systems.
The military has expanded their use to reconnaissance, troop detection, monitoring buildings and tunnels, directing fire, and carrying out precision and kamikaze strikes. They will be widely distributed to ground units and treated as expendable battlefield weapons.
The Lebanon front accelerated this shift after Hezbollah used attack drones and fiber-optic-guided drones that are difficult to disrupt electronically. Israel is now treating low-altitude airspace as a separate combat domain, expanding domestic production, and reducing reliance on Chinese drones and components.
