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Air Force expands its UAV capabilities By YAAKOV KATZ 01/26/2011 00:05 IAF inaugurates new squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles; can fly higher, stay in air longer, carry larger payload than predecessors. The IAF will inaugurate a new squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles in the coming months, in an effort to boost its intelligence-gathering capabilities. The squadron will operate the Heron, made by Israel Aerospace Industries, which is capable of remaining in the air for two days without refueling. By comparison, a previous UAV used by the IAF, the Searcher Mk. II, can only remain airborne for 12 hours. RELATED: Elbit Systems unit wins British Army UAV deal IAI presents new Panther UAV The Heron can fly at altitudes of 30,000 feet, making it a difficult target for standard anti-aircraft weapons. It has the ability to carry a 250 kg. payload, compared to 100 kg. for the Searcher. The Heron has a wingspan of 16.6 m. and weighs 1,200 kg., with an operation range of hundreds of kilometers – and the ability to fly in all weather conditions, during the day and night. The new squadron will be a drone unit operated by the IAF. Late last month, the air force launched the squadron – which operates the Heron TP, one of the largest UAV’s in the world – which is also made by Israel Aerospace Industries, and has a wingspan of 26 m. The IAF’s other squadrons operate the Heron, as well as Elbit Systems’s Hermes 450. In recent years, UAVs have played a dominant role in IAF operations on various fronts – primarily in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip – and account for a quarter of the IAF’s overall flight hours. The drones are frequently used for reconnaissance and surveillance. According to foreign news reports, some of the UAVs used by the IAF also have the ability to fire air-to-surface missiles. Israel Aerospace Industries is a world leader in the development of UAVs, and a number of NATO countries currently operate its systems in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last week, the Singapore press reported that the Asian island country was operating IAI’s Searcher UAV in Afghanistan. According to the report, the Singaporean troops were operating four Searcher UAV systems in Afghanistan. IAI presents new Panther UAV By YAAKOV LAPPIN 10/05/2010 04:45 The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board. Talkbacks (1) Israel Aerospace Industries is set to unveil a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during a conference in Latrun on Tuesday. The Panther UAV “combines the flight capabilities of an airplane with helicopter- like hovering, a tilt-rotor propeller, and a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system, which enable a runway-free takeoff and landing on an unprepared area,” IAI said in a press release on Monday. The Panther will go on display at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) 2010 annual meeting and exposition in Washington, to be held October 25-27. Itzhak Nissan, president and CEO of IAI, said, “The Panther’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, along with its effective use of changing flight dynamics, make it a unique and invaluable asset on the tactical battlefield for the Israel Defense Forces and for foreign customers. We consider the innovative technology used in this system to be ground-breaking.” The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board. =============== IDF's technological superiority must be defended Despite Israel's leading position in weapons development, an illusion remains that it is dependent on the United States for the qualitative advantage of its weapon systems. By Moshe Arens Haaretz Published 00:56 25.01.11 http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/idf-s-technological-superiority-must-be-defended-1.339026 For many years a basic tenet of Israeli defense policy was that its soldiers must have a qualitative advantage over its enemies in terms of the weapon systems at their disposal. The question was how to achieve that qualitative superiority. Yitzhak Rabin once told me that victory on the battlefield could only be achieved with weapons acquired abroad, and this view was shared by many in the defense establishment. France was Israel's main source of advanced weapons in the 1950s, with the United States assuming that mantle thereafter. The claims by Israeli engineers that they could develop systems that were at least as good as anything available abroad were dismissed as pipe dreams. Rabin's position came to the fore in 1987, when as defense minister he asked the cabinet to cancel the Lavi combat aircraft development program, which he had inherited from his predecessor, despite the fact that it was to be the most advanced fighter plane in the world at the time, and two prototypes were already undergoing flight testing. After squeezing the cancellation through the cabinet, Rabin ordered Israel Aircraft Industries (now Israel Aerospace Industries ) to close its engineering division lest it drag Israel into another "adventure." That division was one of the best fighter aircraft design departments in the world. The Israel Navy became the first Israel Defense Forces branch to place its trust in a locally developed weapon system when it equipped its missile boats with the Gabriel sea-to-sea missile. In the Yom Kippur War the Gabriel was instrumental in the navy's decisive victory over the Syrian and Egyptian navies in the first missile battles in the history of naval warfare. The Israel Air Force was the first to utilize small unmanned aerial vehicles, which destroyed Soviet-made surface-to-air missile batteries during the first Lebanon War, without losing a single plane, and Israel's UAVs are still among the best in the world. But the IAF has remained adamant in its opposition to an Israeli-developed fighter aircraft. Today, 24 years since the unfortunate decision to abort the Lavi project, the capabilities of the Israeli defense industry are known throughout the world. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is first in the world when it comes to tactical missiles. Elta Electronics Industries' radar systems are the world's best, and most advanced, while the Merkava is the world's best main battle tank. The Arrow is the world's first operational ballistic missile interceptor, while Iron Dome is the first short-range missile interceptor. In any conflict, Israel's enemies will contend with many surprises that will demonstrate the qualitative advantage that locally developed systems can provide. Yet the illusion remains that Israel is dependent on the United States for the qualitative advantage of its weapon systems. In fact, this is true only when it comes to manned aircraft. And while the incorporation of Israeli-developed systems into the aircraft acquired in the United States once gave Israel some advantage over the very same aircraft that were sold to Arab countries, that advantage has begun to disappear with the introduction of U.S. restrictions on the incorporation of Israeli systems into these aircraft. The F-35, the latest U.S. fighter that Israel wants to acquire, will include no Israeli systems. The F-35 development program has been plagued by frequent delays and mounting cost overruns. The design compromises that have to be made to accommodate its goal of serving as a joint strike fighter that will be acquired by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Marines have limited its performance capabilities. In the meantime, anti-stealth technology is being developed and may yet neutralize what is being advertised as the aircraft's major advantage before delivery or within its operational lifetime. Russia and Indian are developing a more advanced aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50, which is certain to be sold to Arab air forces and to face the IAF's aircraft in the future. It is time to reexamine Israel's own capabilities in this area. In any event, IAI must not be permitted to allow our fighter-aircraft design capability to atrophy.