Are Drones the Soldier of the Future for Israel?

A Florida-based drone company has earned major kudos from Israel’s top defense officials with a futuristic military drone that could save lives on the battlefield.

Duke Robotics announced yesterday that the Israeli Ministry of Defense endorsed the company’s TIKAD drone as “innovative future battlefield technology.”

The ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons (equivalent to the American DARPA) announced it would deploy the drone, which the company says offers a “six degrees of freedom parallel robotic system that works in real time and can stabilize objects up to triple its weight.” The program falls under the ministry’s “Weapons of the Future” initiative.

“We are pleased with the endorsement of the Israeli for our technology and its capability in providing a real solution in saving lives and changing the course of the modern battlefield,” Duke Robotics CEO Raziel Atuar said in a press release.

The company has dubbed the TIKAD the “Future Soldier” — the hexacopter weighs 110 pounds and can hit altitudes up to 1,500 feet. It’s also capable of being weaponized with semi-automatic guns or a 40 mm grenade launcher.

“TIKAD is remotely operated by troops, user-friendly and easily carried into the field. The company’s proprietary robotic stabilization technology enables the TIKAD to absorb the recoil of a weapon, allowing for pinpoint targeting and shooting accuracy that can protect troops in a variety of dangerous situations,” a company release stated. “By reducing the need for ground troops, the TIKAD represents a major step towards minimizing military and civilian casualties and the technology is gaining support on a global basis.”

Israel has locked in a position as an active global drone player both in military and commercial platforms.

Earlier this year, Israeli security firm Tactical Robotics Ltd announced the first autonomous, untethered flight of the AirMule, an unmanned VTOL drone designed to evacuate injured personnel from the battlefield. The Bundeswehr, Germany’s defense ministry inked a deal in January to rent the Heron TP drone from the Israeli company IAI to protect German soldiers in deployments overseas.

Israel is also active in the anti-drone or drone-defense field. In June, a duo of domestic firms introduced two new platforms — Drone Guard and Drone Dome — to bolster Israel’s anti-drone capabilities.