IAI Heron

Heron
IAI Heron 1 UAV in flight
General information
TypeUnmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle
National originIsrael
ManufacturerIsrael Aerospace Industries
StatusActive, in production
Primary usersIsraeli Defence Force
History
Introduction date2005
First flight1994
VariantsEADS Harfang
IAI Eitan
Avionics Services Caçador
IAI Heron on display at the Paris Air Show 2009
IAI Super Heron at an Air Show to commemorate 40 years of UAVs in Israel
Controlling the UAV for experimental purposes at the Fallon Naval Air Station

The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. An advanced version, the Heron TP, is also known as the IAI Eitan.

On 11 September 2005, it was announced that the Israel Defense Forces purchased US$50 million worth of Heron systems.[1]

  1. ^ "Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. – Home page". Iai.co.il. Archived from the original on 16 December 2005. Retrieved 18 November 2012.