Sig Sauer and Israeli company partner on combat drone

This is the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) conceptual image of the Fire Storm 250, a quadcopter unmanned aircraft system armed with the M250 multicaliber light machine gun made by Sig Sauer, headquartered in Newington, NH. (Courtesy photo)

Sig Sauer is partnering with an Israeli aerospace company to develop a military-application drone armed with the Newington company’s latest-generation machine gun.

The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is known as the Fire Storm 250.

Janes, the worldwide online and print publication well known for its reporting and analysis of military equipment and technologies, describes the Fire Storm 250 as follows:

“… an armed quadcopter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) jointly developed by Sig Sauer and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), represents a significant evolution in tactical-level loitering kinetic platforms, integrating a stabilized Micro-Remote Controlled Weapon System (RCWS) armed with the Sig Sauer M250 multicaliber light machine gun (LMG).”

Development of the armed quadcopter comes in an era in which unmanned drones are used more and more in combat operations — in Ukraine’s war with Russia, for example, and the current conflict involving the United States, Israel, Iran and other Middle East nations.

The quadcopter, with four internal combustion motors, was developed by IAI in partnership with Aerotor, also based in Israel, using Aerotor’s heavy-fuel, long-endurance, high-payload platform designed for defense applications.

Its armaments come from Sig Sauer and its M250 multicaliber light machine gun made at its Rochester plant, which opened in the fall 2022 to produce the $4.5 billion Next Generation Squad Weapons System (NGSWS) for the U.S. Army.

The M250 was introduced to the U.S. Army as part of the NGSWS, becoming operational in the field beginning in 2024 to replace the M249 SAW.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) last year acquired a version of the M250 (chambered to use the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm round) as part of a larger arms purchase worth $95 million, according to Janes.

IAI is Israel’s largest government-owned defense and aerospace company, specializing in advanced military and civilian technologies.

Sig Sauer makes and supplies high-performance handguns, rifles, munitions and other related products to military, law enforcement and civilian markets worldwide. Its headquarters is at the Pease International Tradeport, which straddles parts of both Newington and Portsmouth.

Neither Sig Sauer or IAI has any media company-generated content on their websites about the Fire Storm 250 (also called the Firestorm 250 in some source material).

At one point in 2024 as it was developing the system, IAI did have a page on its website concerning the Fire Storm 250 describing it as follows: “The Fire Storm 250 enables reusable, direct-fire support roles, including direct precision fire, border defense, airborne suppressive fire, maritime interdiction, and force overwatch — capabilities that amplify small-unit lethality in urban, border or littoral contested environments.”

That page has since disappeared.

NH Business Review reached out to Tom Taylor, Sig Sauer’s executive vice president, global brand development for an interview or comment about the partnership, but we did not hear back from him.

Sig Sauer in its January 2026 online newsletter included a link to a story by The Firearm Blog about seeing the drone at The SHOT Show — the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show — held in Las Vegas in January.

“Chatting to SIG Sauer, they explained that the idea behind the machine gun-armed drone was to provide loitering air support — perhaps to a piece of key infrastructure, a forward operating base or even a moving convoy,” the blog revealed. “The drones can provide an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) capability and a sort of localized, sustained, unmanned combat air patrol.”

According to the blog, the M250 equipped drone can carry up to 200 rounds of 7.62x51mm ammo with a feed system that can vary between a sliding ammo tray or a drum containing the belt. Its artificial intelligence-empowered software can recognize and track targets up to 15 or so miles, depending on conditions.

The Defence Blog — an independent online news outlet devoted to military tech — said the armed drone was showcased at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in October 2025.

It noted that IAI representatives at the exhibition “stated that the platform has undergone initial testing and is being offered for evaluation by international defense customers. The company aims to position the Fire Storm 250 as part of a broader suite of unmanned solutions covering land, air and maritime domains.”

It also noted that, “for unknown reasons, the description of the Fire Storm 250 unmanned system was removed from IAI’s official website. The company has not issued any statement explaining the change.”

According to Janes, Sig Sauer and IAI will begin flight tests for the weaponized quadcopter at some point in the third quarter of this year.

The Fire Storm 250 is somewhat distinct in that it is not a suicide drone — a one-way weapon used essentially as a bomb.

With its in-air endurance of three hours, its vertical take-off and landing, the Fire Storm 250 is designed for repeatable and tactical use in a variety of environments, from open fields and dense vegetation to urban settings.