Profile
- Type
- Commercial hexacopter UAV
- Conflict side
- Hamas
- Origin
- China
- Service note
- Introduced in 2016; weaponized in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas War
Aircraft & UAVs
DJI Matrice 600 weaponized quadcopter
The DJI Matrice 600 is a six-rotor commercial UAV platform designed for aerial imaging, payload carriage, and industrial work. In the Israel-Hamas War, reporting tied Hamas's use of Matrice 600-class airframes to improvised strike missions against Israeli surveillance towers, illustrating how an off-the-shelf drone can be adapted for attack use.
Service History
- In service
- Commercial aerial platform repurposed for improvised strike use in Gaza
- Used by
- Hamas
- Wars
- Israel-Hamas War
Production History
Specifications
- Configuration
- Six-rotor commercial hexacopter UAV
- Maximum payload
- 6 kg
- Maximum speed
- 65 kph
- Flight time
- Up to 36 minutes with a Zenmuse X5 camera; up to 16 minutes with a larger camera
- Dimensions
- 1668 mm x 1518 mm x 759 mm unfolded
- Landing gear
- Retractable
Conflict Usage
- Israel-Hamas War
- Side: HamasRole: Improvised strike UAV
In the Israel-Hamas War, Euro-SD said Hamas propaganda videos and IDF photos of captured equipment showed Matrice 600 rotary-wing UAVs used by Hamas to drop RPG rounds on IDF surveillance towers along the Gaza border fence on 7 October 2023.
DJI Matrice 600 weaponized quadcopter Images
Related Weapon Systems
Drone-dropped fragmentation grenadeImprovised drone-delivered grenadeDrone-dropped fragmentation grenade is a field-adapted tactic that uses commercial quadcopters or similar small UAVs to release grenades onto exposed targets. In the Israel-Hamas War, open-source reporting documents Hamas using the method during the October 7, 2023 attack and Israeli forces using commercial drones to drop grenades in Gaza in 2025, making it a low-cost, short-range improvised strike method rather than a standardized grenade model..jpg?width=480)
Autel weaponized quadcopterCommercial quadcopter droneAutel weaponized quadcopter covers the EVO-series commercial quadcopters that Israeli ground troops in Gaza adapted for grenade drops and close-in reconnaissance during the Israel-Hamas War. Its low cost, long endurance, and simple payload attachment made it a field-expedient strike drone rather than a purpose-built military UAV..jpg?width=480)
DJI Matrice 300 RTKCommercial quadcopter UAVThe DJI Matrice 300 RTK is a Chinese commercial enterprise quadcopter built around long-endurance inspection, mapping, and public-safety payloads. In the Russia-Ukraine War it appears as an off-the-shelf UAV in Ukrainian service, where donor-funded sets have been supplied for reconnaissance, observation, and front-line support tasks rather than as a purpose-built military aircraft.
DJI Mavic seriesCommercial quadcopter UAVThe DJI Mavic series is a family of Chinese commercial folding quadcopters that became a mass battlefield UAV in the Russia-Ukraine War and has also been documented in Gaza. Although designed for civilian imaging, models such as the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Enterprise have been used for short-range ISR, artillery correction, situational awareness, target acquisition, and improvised attack roles.
DJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopterCommercial quadcopter UAVDJI's Phantom-series consumer quadcopters were repurposed by Hamas as improvised attack UAVs in the Israel-Hamas War, with open reporting linking them to grenade drops on Israeli positions and communications nodes and to settings changes intended to evade countermeasures.
Drone-dropped modified RPG or shaped-charge munitionImprovised drone-delivered shaped-charge munitionHamas-linked forces used modified commercial drones to drop improvised munitions, including a drone-delivered modified RPG round described by analysts in Hamas-released footage during the opening attacks of the Israel-Hamas War.Sources
DJI Introduces Next-Generation Matrice 600 Aerial PlatformPublisher: DJI | Note: Supports the Matrice 600's six-rotor design, payload capacity, speed, flight time, retractable landing gear, and manufacturer/background context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Support for Matrice 600Publisher: DJI | Note: Supports the Matrice 600's dimensions, weight, max takeoff weight, and other official platform specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20IDF knew of Hamas battle plan a year before attack, but dismissed it becoming a realityPublisher: European Security & Defence | Note: Direct conflict-use source for the Israel-Hamas War: says Hamas used Matrice 600 rotary-wing UAVs to drop RPG rounds on IDF surveillance towers along the Gaza border fence on 7 October 2023. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Peruvian Air Force drone.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance page for a licensed Wikimedia Commons photo of a DJI Matrice 600 drone belonging to the Peruvian Air Force, licensed under CC BY 2.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20DJI Matrice 600 Pro UAS unit by Don Ramey Logan.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance page for a licensed Wikimedia Commons photo of a DJI Matrice 600 Pro UAS unit, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-202021-04-16 Matrice 600 Hexacopter10.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance page for a licensed Wikimedia Commons photo of a Matrice 600 hexacopter, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20