IDF officials warned that the widespread use of Chinese-made drones by frontline combat units could expose troop locations and sensitive operational information to hostile monitoring, Walla learned on Wednesday.
At the beginning of the war nearly three years ago, enormous donations poured into the IDF to fund weapons and equipment, including various types of drones.
Some of the drones, among the most advanced in the world, come in different configurations and are intended primarily to assist with intelligence gathering, observation, reconnaissance, and attack missions.
The IDF Ground Forces began collecting the drones to regulate their use after discovering, among other things, that units lacked balance and that allocation was not uniform across battalions. In other words, some battalions received larger donations, while others received none at all.
At the same time, the IDF was working to carry out large-scale procurement under stringent standards for its ground troops.
IDF tightens security policy, still permits unregulated use of Chinese tech
Security officials told Walla that, on the one hand, the IDF had decided to tighten its information security policy and had banned Chinese-made vehicles from entering IDF bases, similar to a policy adopted by the Shin Bet.
On the other hand, the military still permits the widespread and unregulated use of Chinese technology, including drones used by troops at the IDF's frontline operational edge.
"In Sayeret Matkal, there is particular care not to use any piece of Chinese-made technology that can collect information and transmit it back or create a clear signature that can be detected remotely," one of the officials said.
The official added that some drones are sold with an application that not only operates the drone, but can also identify similar drones in the area of operations.
An official familiar with the IDF's use of drones explained that Chinese-made drones are very inexpensive, and the military therefore prefers them over Israeli-, American-, or European-made drones, which are significantly more expensive by every measure.
IDF must regulate quality, types, and frequencies
In addition, another official said the IDF must regulate not only the quality and types of drones in use, but also the frequencies on which they operate.
"The IDF is far from having this issue in order, and there is a lot of chaos. Frequencies were allocated to the Ground Forces, and they do not really adhere to them. It is a sensitive issue," the official stated.
In response, the IDF stated that it operates “in accordance with regulation and binding security standards in the field of force buildup, including in the areas of weapons, vehicles, technology, and digital components.”
"Systems that meet the requirements and security standards may be considered for integration into the IDF, subject to the relevant directives and approval processes. Additionally, systems that do not meet the requirements will be required to make the necessary adjustments, and if they fail to meet the conditions, they will not be approved for use in the IDF," the military responded.