The statement carries an October 13 dateline and forms part of IAI's announcements around the AUSA exhibition in Washington. Its wider display connects three different tasks: observing threats, intercepting drones and giving tactical forces an airborne means of responding. Each system addresses a different part of that sequence.
What the Test Demonstrated
According to the companies, FIRE STORM 250 hovered above a simulated battlefield, used an onboard camera to identify targets and conducted firing at different distances and altitudes. The configuration combines an IAI aircraft with SIG SAUER's MICROLIGHT remotely controlled weapon station and M250 machine gun.
IAI says the aircraft can take off and land vertically, allowing it to operate without a runway. The company also describes an internal combustion engine that can use several types of fuel and be refueled in the field. Those design choices are intended to let the aircraft accompany tactical units with limited support equipment.
The Operator Keeps Authority
IAI says sensor imagery, tracking information and engagement options reach the operator, who authorizes the use of fire. Moshe Levy, head of IAI's Military Aircraft Group, framed the project around combining observation and action while preserving human control.
That description distinguishes automation from authorization. An aircraft can operate without an onboard pilot while still depending on a person for an engagement decision. IAI's account presents that distinction as part of the system's architecture, rather than describing an artificial intelligence system independently choosing to attack.
A Different Approach to Interception
HawkGuard, another system presented at the exhibition, has a separate role. IAI says it combines radar, optical sensors, command and control and interceptor drones to counter aerial threats without an explosive warhead. The company presents the absence of an explosion as a way to avoid blast and secondary explosive effects.
In an interview with Breaking Defense, Elta Systems chief Dror Bar described an interceptor equipped with a net. He positioned HawkGuard as an additional defensive layer, rather than a universal answer to every drone threat. Its purpose therefore differs from FIRE STORM 250: one is designed to stop hostile aircraft, while the other supports tactical forces with observation and firepower.
Moving the Radar Above Obstacles
POINT@AIR addresses the earlier problem of seeing a threat. IAI describes a radar carried by a mobile aerostat, with its elevated position extending visibility beyond terrain and other obstructions. The company says it is designed for relocation without permanent infrastructure and for monitoring aerial, maritime and ground targets.
Bar told Breaking Defense that the platform remains in a demonstration phase while IAI works with US company TCOM on its configuration. IAI says POINT@AIR combines electronic scanning and mechanical rotation for coverage in all directions. It is designed to feed surveillance data into command and control systems.
IAI says HawkGuard's modular architecture can be adapted for fixed sites, mobile forces and offshore platforms. The wider display links that flexibility with an elevated radar and an aircraft carrying a remotely controlled weapon. The three systems address different stages of a tactical problem, from extending observation to intercepting an aerial threat or responding under an operator's authority.
