VIDEO: Israel Aerospace Industries Heron UAV in flight-29/06/2007-London-Flightglobal.com
UAVs SubscribeYou are in: Home › UAVs › News Article DATE:11/02/08 SOURCE:Flight International Israel special - Israel broadens UAV use with advanced designs By Arie Egozi Future manned aircraft procurement programmes will have to be adjusted based on the capabilities of advanced unmanned aircraft vehicles now under development, the Israeli air force admits. Most of the UAVs under development in Israel and in use with the IAF are highly classified, and will stay that way for years to come. "The UAVs that the Israeli armed forces are using on a daily basis are a super force multiplier," says a senior source at the Israeli ministry of defense, adding that some of the programmes make UAVs "not just a substitute for manned aircraft, but a tool with dramatically enhanced capabilities". Investment In addition to programmes funded by the MoD, Israel's two main manufacturers, Elbit Systems and the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries, are investing their own research and development money in advanced UAV systems. One partially unclassified project is IAI's Heron 2 or Heron TP. The IAF is test flying this large UAV, which it has dubbed "Eitan". According to an IAF source, the test flights will continue through 2008 "before series production begins". Industry and air force sources frequently refer to UAVs as a satellite substitute, and when the prototype Eitan was unveiled in late 2007 at Tel-Nof air force base it was fitted with what appeared to be the housing for an advanced multi-sensor payload. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop, and 13m (43ft) long with a wing span of 26m, the Eitan has a maximum take-off weight of 4t. The aircraft is designed for autonomous take-off and landing, a feature of most UAVs developed in Israel. Sources estimate the Eitan has an endurance of over 70h and a ceiling of 45,000ft. Its composite fuselage is designed to carry large-volume payloads, and the new UAV will perform some long-range missions now accomplished by manned IAF aircraft.
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