Israel just put a machine gun on a drone that can loiter for three hours and hand firepower to a squad without a pilot in the cockpit.
Israel Aerospace Industries and SIG Sauer completed a live-fire trial of the FIRE STORM 250 in mid-October 2026. The companies announced it at the Association of the United States Army expo in Washington. The VTOL quadcopter, based on IAI’s Apus 60, hovered over a simulated battlefield, identified targets with its onboard camera, and engaged them in single-shot and semi-automatic modes from different altitudes and distances. A human operator authorized every round. The system cannot decide to fire on its own.
It carries the SIG Sauer M250 light machine gun in the company’s MICROLIGHT remote weapon station. The full package—station, gun, and 200 rounds—weighs about 53 pounds (24 kg). SIG calls the station the lightest airborne weapon mount in the world. The M250 is the same belt-fed design the U.S. Army type-classified in May 2025 to replace the M249 SAW under the Next Generation Squad Weapon program. It can be configured for 7.62×51 mm NATO or the Army’s 6.8×51 mm round. Targeting range is listed at 400–600 meters from roughly 200 meters altitude.
NEW: The Trump administration is expanding coordination across five federal departments to counter dangerous drones—including cartel drones along the southern border.
DHS announced the agreement today alongside the Departments of Transportation, War, Energy and Justice.
Here’s what it means:
•Testing and deploying counter-drone tools: Agencies will coordinate on technology that can detect, track, stop or take control of dangerous or unauthorized drones.
•Protecting civilian flights: The FAA will review proposed systems for safety risks, including potential interference with aircraft and navigation equipment. It can require additional protections, including airspace restrictions.
•Sharing information: Agencies will work together on technical requirements, field testing and data sharing, coordinating with the FAA and FCC.
Officials say the agreement builds on existing efforts, including a temporary flight restriction along the southern border and a completed safety assessment of the Department of War’s high-energy laser counter-drone system.
@SecMullinDHS saying, “This action will help counter cartel drone threats, protect our personnel, and strengthen security in the airspace above the border.”
The effort also extends to protecting military installations and critical energy infrastructure.
https://t.co/PlfQW7Tg2g
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) November 9, 2026
The multi-fuel internal-combustion engine gives up to three hours of endurance and lets crews refuel in the field. No runway is required. The aircraft takes off and lands vertically from forward positions. Sensor and fire-control data feed a single targeting picture so the operator sees the fight and clears the shot. Intended roles are close air support, force protection, and border security for small tactical units.
Mario Nawfal’s post summarizing the system went wide on X on November 9. It was picked up by accounts across languages, with video clips showing the aircraft and the mounted gun. The description matched the company release: three hours, 200 rounds, vertical takeoff, human trigger authority.
No peer system is fielded today. Ukraine has fielded improvised rifle mounts on heavy multicopters—one Presidential Brigade crew used a captured AK, a hard-drive magnet, rope, and tape—but those are short-endurance, unstable experiments. Ukrainian and Russian forces rely far more on ground robots and AI-aimed machine-gun turrets for counter-drone work, including Sky Sentinel-style .50-cal mounts that have engaged jet-powered Gerans around Kyiv. Turkish firms have shown experimental aerial gun platforms such as the GATREX counter-drone concept and continue fielding ground SPAAGs like the Korkut. Traditional UCAVs from Turkey, the United States, and China carry missiles and guided munitions rather than a stabilized belt-fed machine gun for persistent squad overwatch.
Israel has tested a new drone that can fire a machine gun from the sky. It’s called Fire Storm 250, and it can hover over a battlefield, spot targets with its camera and fire from above. Built by Israel Aerospace Industries and SIG Sauer, it’s designed to stay airborne for up to 3 hours while carrying 200 rounds of ammunition. And it doesn’t even need a runway. It takes off vertically and can be refueled right in the field. But there’s still a person behind the trigger. The drone can’t decide to fire on its own. That could give soldiers on the ground firepower from above without putting a pilot in the air.
🇮🇱 Israel has tested a new drone that can fire a machine gun from the sky.
It’s called Fire Storm 250, and it can hover over a battlefield, spot targets with its camera and fire from above.
Built by Israel Aerospace Industries and SIG Sauer, it’s designed to stay airborne for up to 3 hours while carrying 200 rounds of ammunition.
And it doesn’t even need a runway. It takes off vertically and can be refueled right in the field.
But there’s still a person behind the trigger. The drone can’t decide to fire on its own.
That could give soldiers on the ground firepower from above without putting a pilot in the air.
Source: IAI / Writer: Daniyal
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 9, 2026
The FIRE STORM 250 is reusable, field-refuelable, and deliberately keeps a person in the loop. For ground troops that means organic aerial fire without waiting for a manned aircraft or accepting a one-way drone. Whether armies buy it in numbers remains open. The live-fire results and the October announcement are already on the record.
Whatfinger News covers the hardware and the fights that use it. See more on current drone and ground systems at militarywar.whatfinger.com.
— The Whatfinger News Team: Sgt R, Sgt K with Grok on edits and graphics
