The Spike Firefly (known in Hebrew as Maoz) is considered one of the world’s first tactical loitering munitions designed specifically for infantry.

By Hezy Laing

A major advance in tactical weapons was inspired by a battle fought for Jerusalem almost 60 years ago.

That battle was the fierce urban combat at Ammunition Hill (Givat HaTachmoshet) in Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in June 1967.

Fighting as a young infantryman in this brutal engagement, Yaki Hetz realized that the standard hand grenade was limited by the soldier’s ability to throw it and could not reach enemies hiding behind corners or inside fortified rooms without exposing the thrower.

This limitation sparked a lifelong mission to create a “flying grenade” that could navigate complex urban terrain and strike targets with precision.

Decades later, as a senior executive at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Hetz turned this vision into reality with the Spike Firefly (known in Hebrew as Maoz).

Weighing just 3 kg with a 350–400 gram warhead, the Maoz is considered one of the world’s first tactical loitering munitions designed specifically for infantry.

It can hover, peek around corners, identify targets, and dive at 70 km/h to explode, effectively extending the soldier’s reach beyond line-of-sight.

The concept, born in the trenches of 1967, was finally realized in the 2000s and saw extensive use by IDF forces in Gaza and Lebanon, closing the circle for Hetz, whose own son later operated the drone in combat.

“In this war, my son Gil served in Gaza as a reservist, and he and his comrades made extensive use of the Maoz, which for me is a closing of the circle,” he said.