The IAI Rotem L or IAI Rotem - Light is a
loitering munition
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a weapon with a warhead that is typically designed to Loiter (aeronautics), loiter until a target is designated, then crash into it.[Israel Aerospace Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...]
.
Design
The Rotem-L is a
vertical takeoff and landing
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wing ...
(VTOL)
quadcopter
A quadcopter, also called quadrocopter, or quadrotor is a type of helicopter or multicopter that has four rotors.
Although quadrotor helicopters and convertiplanes have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity ...
primarily designed for operations in
urban warfare
Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...
that a single soldier can assemble and deploy in under a minute, then control using a
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...
. It weighs around 6.5 kg and has a range of 10 km. The warhead capsule weighs 1.2 kg and holds two
M26 or
M67 grenades with an arming system that requires airflow for activation, and it can be called back and retrieved if no target is engaged. The electrically-powered munition is virtually silent at ranges of 200 meters, has a cruising speed of , and can dive at target at and achieve accuracy of less than one meter. The Rotem-L uses a pair of cameras for surveillance and target acquisition and tracking, one in the nose and one under the belly, as well as obstacle avoidance sensors to prevent the air vehicle from colliding with obstacles in urban areas. With the lethal payload, it has an endurance of 30 minutes, but when fitted with a lighter
ISR capsule endurance is extended to 45 minutes. If it lands in a perch to observe, it can wait for up to nine hours.
IAI unveiled the Rotem Alpha in September 2023. It employs a
anti-tank warhead derived from the
LAHAT
The LAHAT (laser homing attack or laser homing anti-tank, also a Hebrew word for ''incandescence'') is a third generation semi-active laser homing low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1991 and manufactured by Israel Aerospace In ...
, with a combined anti-tank/blast-fragmentation charge that penetrates 450 mm of armor or a pure anti-tank charge that penetrates 800 mm of armor. The Rotem Alpha is larger weighing but is still man-portable, with an endurance of 60 minutes and an operating range of .
IAI unveils ROTEM Alpha, an Anti Tank Loitering Weapon
''Defense-Update''. 12 September 2023.
See also
* STM Kargu
* Spike Firefly
References
External links
ROTEM Tactical Vertical Take-Off and Lading (VTOL) Loitering Munition - IAI
IAI ROTEM L - Multiblade Loitering Munition
The Quadrotor Drone That Carries a Warhead
Harop
Harop
Loitering munitions
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