The IAI Rotem L or IAI Rotem – Light is a tactical, loitering munition based on a light multi-rotor platform that delivers excellent capabilities against low signature enemy systems in complex environments developed by the Israel Aerospace Industries. The ROTEM is a tactical, loitering munition based on a light multi-rotor platform that delivers excellent capabilities against low signature enemy systems in complex environments. It can perform squad level ISR and attack missions with a minimal planning and operational focus from the operator. The Rotem weighs only 4.5 kg, packing an impressive array of sensors, The drone is a quadcopter that can loiter for 30–45 minutes with the maximum range of 10 km. It can carry 1 kg warhead that could be two fragmentation grenades.

This lightweight and compact Aerial Vehicle (AV) can be operated by a single soldier. The backpacked system is a tactical kit of two AVs with all peripherals to allow an operational unit to use it organically as a part of their standard gear. The exceptional capability to hover allows the VTOL platform to see targets and engage within seconds, which makes the ROTEM a game changer for its operators Unlike many other loitering drones, Rotem has the significant feature that it can be reused once aborts the mission, and safely lands in a safe location. The AV is capable of lethal precision strikes on stationary and mobile targets and is recoverable.

The Rotem is operated by a single soldier using simple point and click commands on a tablet controller. The vehicle takes off vertically, and ascends toward the area of interest, where the operator can scan and observe the area using its forward looking slanted camera. From a distance of few hundreds of meters ROTEM is practically inaudible and can loiter silently for the entire mission. When a target is located and verified the operator can switch to attack mode, the drone responds and quickly accelerates to a high speed dive, closing in on its prey, with the target maintained in view throughout the flight, enabling the manned operator to monitor the attack and abort anytime if necessary. Using on-board sensors, ROTEM effectively avoids obstacles, enter windows at low or high levels, or maneuver around fences. The operator directs the ROTEM to its target – horizontally, vertically or slanted as necessary

Fixed-wing drones have problems in cities. They cannot easily fly down narrow streets and alleys, and certainly not inside buildings. Trees and overhead power lines are real hazards, so these drone may have to remain hundreds of feet above the action. But a quadrotor munition is a very different type of aerial vehicle. A quadrotor like ROTEM, by contrast, can operate at low altitudes and follow the same path a foot patrol might take. The ROTEM has a sonar-type obstacle avoidance system that lets it fly through narrow spaces and navigate inside buildings.

Meiringen air base, also known as the Unterbach military airfield, is a Swiss military airbase located near the hamlet of Unterbach and the town of Meiringen, in the canton of Bern. It is one of the Swiss Air Force’s three fighter aircraft bases, and home to Fighter Squadron 11. The airfield is situated in the steep-sided alpine valley of the Aar river, with its single runway parallel to the river. It is flanked to the north by the main road to Meiringen, the river, and the Brünig railway line. To the south, taxiways connect the airfield to aircraft caverns built within the valley side. In 2004, militia Squadron 8 “Destructors”, equipped with the F-5E Tiger, moved to Meiringen from Buochs Airport. In 2007, professional Squadron 11 “Tiger”, equipped with the F/A-18, moved from Dübendorf Air Base.

Shortly after World War II and the beginning of the Cold War with the possible escalation between the nuclear superpowers of the Eastern and Western blocks, the Swiss Air Force began to develop concepts for defending their neutrality in the case of a conflict. In the 1940s, the Swiss army had already built so-called retablierstollen (re-equipping caves) at some airfields. These retablierstollen consisted of 100m long straight tunnels excavated in the rock, making it possible to store and eventually re-arm small Swiss fighter aircraft such as the then used Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406. The dimensions of these tunnels are comparable to an autobahn tunnel. The airfields chosen were Alpnach, Buochs, Meiringen, St.Stephan and Saanen, all located in the Alps with a lot of cover in the vicinity of the runway so that the aircraft could be out of sight within minutes after touchdown.

The Meiringen Air Base started operations on 1 December 1941. The base played an important role in the 1946 C-53 Skytrooper crash on the Gauli Glacier: the rescue operation was launched and coordinated by the Meiringen air base. After World War 2, an aircraft cavern was built in Meiringen. Aircraft cavern, a calque of the German word Flugzeugkaverne, is an underground hangar amongst others used by the Swiss Air Force. In the 1970 years the construction of another cavern tunnel was started for the A-7G Corsair II, but because the A-7G was not bought, this construction was completed as an ammunition storage cavern. With the introduction of the F/A-18 the aircraft cavern was rebuilt again and received another tunnel so the aircraft can go straight in and out at the same time. In the inside maneuvering without crane is now possible.

The airfield of Meiringen is still important for the Air Force. With the closure of Sion Air Base in 2016, it will be one of only three fighter bases, along with Payerne Air Base and Emmen Air Base. It is the home base to two fighter squadrons, militia Squadron 8 “Destructors”, equipped with the Northrop F-5E Tiger, and professional Squadron 11 “Tiger”, equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Meiringen is the only Swiss airbase that uses an aircraft cavern in daily operations. The runway is equipped with retractable arresting gear devices at both ends. The operation of the aerodrome has for the region and the town of Meiringen, both positive and negative effects: noise emissions by the military jets is for the affected population as well as for tourism businesses. The airfield is, however, with some 190 labor and 25 training places an important economic factor for the region. The airfield has a small museum that is open on Wednesday afternoons from May to October; different pieces of equipment are exhibited as well as an Aérospatiale Alouette III and an F-5 Tiger.