Drones fitted with weapons are not exactly a new thing. In the War on Terror we have seen footages of terrorists vehicles being hit by missiles fired from high flying drones. But everybody is predicting that soon drones will be able to do tasks that will be risky for infantry soldiers by having smaller weapons mounted on them such as automatic weapons, machine guns, and grenade launchers.

We have watched some videos done by some YouTubers in which they mounted weapons on their drones. But now one company is producing weapon drones and has a big client to supply --- the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and they have a drone that is stable enough to mount weapons and thus can be used to shoot at targets more accurately.

Duke Robotics are supplying the IDF with the Tikad Drone according to Defense One. The Florida-based company has developed a way for a drone to be stable enough with a mechanism that is able to compensate for recoil when a mounted weapon is fired. And as seen in camera drones, the mechanism can also easily swivel and acquire targets easily.

According to Defense One, the company is founded by former IDF soldiers one of which is Lt. Col. Raziel “Razi” Atuar, a 20-year veteran of the Israeli military. Still a reservist in the Israeli Special Forces, he says he is tired of watching his comrades in street battles and in putting up Duke Robotics, they want to develop and remote controlled weapons platform that can clear high risk areas without the operator exposing himself/herself. More and more militaries and law enforcement organisations are relying on drones for reconnaissance and it is just inevitable that they will clamor for a weaponised drone.

In the case for the Tikad Drone, it is able to take any weapon under 22lbs. In the same Defense One story, the IDF were able to take out a target with a sniper rifle mounted on a drone that was supplied by Duke Robotics. In urban combat having an aerial drone with a weapon can easily go up in the air to hunt for snipers who are usually perched in elevated positions or smoke out the enemy hiding in buildings ready to rain down bullets on a hapless unit on the ground. Since the Tikad Drone is already armed with a video camera as well, it can be used for reconnaissance as well.

Now, we want to see an airsoft armed drone in the field. We saw some YouTube videos showing such contraptions, but we still need to get a fully mature airsoft drone that can be used on regular games. Game marshals and organizers may need to devise new rules on this, especially on how players can take down an airsoft drone without actually destroying it.

Photos by Duke Robotics.