Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
Spy in the sky rakes in millions for Israel
by Staff Writers
Palmahim Air Base, Israel (AFP) July 1, 2010


The eyes in the sky of modern warfare, whose hallmark hum is heard over Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza, drones are a key weapon and a major cash earner for Israel, the world's largest exporter of pilotless planes.

With more than 1,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) sold, Israel has raked in several hundred million dollars over the years.

Israel's fleet ranges from aircraft which fit in a soldier's backpack to planes the size of a Boeing 737 that can fly as far as Iran.

The flying robots can be used to watch, hunt and kill.

Interest is such that a Turkish military delegation reportedly made a secret trip to Israel last month for training in remote piloting of the Heron drone, despite a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

"It's good for reaching remote targets, wherever it's needed," an officer who would only identify himself as Captain Gil, said, pointing to an IAI Heron on the tarmac of the Palmahim Air Base, near Tel Aviv.

The plane, known in Israel as Shoval -- "trail" in Hebrew -- has a 16-metre (52-foot) wingspan, can fly at an altitude of 30,000 feet (almost 10 kilometres) and can stay in the air for 40 hours.

It carries an array of sensors and radar systems, transmits information in real time, and is equipped with missiles.

"It can stay above a target a long time, without fear a pilot might get shot," said Gil as the bright sunlight reflected on the aircraft's silver fuselage.

The sound of a drone circling over the base could be heard. A monotonous hum that is all too well known to residents of the Gaza Strip, where at times it is followed by a deadly air strike.

UAVs played a key role in the devastating 22-day offensive against the Palestinian enclave which Israel launched on December 27, 2008 in a bid to end daily rocket fire against the Jewish state.

Drones -- US-made in this case -- are also widely used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, both to monitor and to strike.

Turkey says it is using Israeli drones, in coordination with the Americans, for surveillance in northern Iraq, the rear base for attacks on Turkish targets by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK.)

Israel prides itself on the cutting-edge technology of its UAVs, but human rights groups said scores of Palestinian civilians were killed by drones during the Gaza offensive.

Israel insists it does all it can to avoid civilian casualties, while Gil stressed that drones are crucial to troop protection.

Gil, who sports aviator-type sunglasses, is a pilot, but one who sits outside the plane -- behind a computer in an office set up in a container.

Take-off and landing is generally done manually, with the computer taking over, unless manually overridden, for the rest of the flight.

Israel recently unveiled the Heron TP, also known as Eitan -- Hebrew for "strong" -- a 4.5-ton flying behemoth about the size of a 737 whose autonomy puts it well within range of Iran -- the Jewish state's arch-enemy.

At the other end of the scale is a hand-sized and -launched flying machine.

"Israel is the world's leading exporter of drones, with more than 1,000 sold in 42 countries," says Jacques Chemla, head engineer at the UAV department of the state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries, the flagship of the country's defence industry,

That, he says, brings in about 350 million dollars a year.

.


Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
US drone strike kills six militants in Pakistan: officials
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) June 29, 2010
A US drone fired two missiles into a compound used by Islamist fighters in Pakistan's tribal belt Tuesday, killing at least six militants, security officials said. The missiles targeted the compound in Karikot village, about 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan district, a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Six militant ... read more


UAV NEWS
Building A Better Robot Arm For Lunar Rovers

The Earth From The Moon

Moon Whets Appetite For Water

Water Content Of Moon's Interior Underestimated

UAV NEWS
Opportunity To See More Detail At Crater Destination

Spirit Standing By At Troy

Rocky Mounds And A Plateau On Mars

NASA Instrument Will Identify Clues To Martian Past

UAV NEWS
New U.S. space policy sets global agenda

Voyager 2 At 12,000 Days

NASA And International Space Agencies Meet To Discuss Human And Robotic Space Exploration

NASA Plays Key Exploration Role In New Administration Space Policy

UAV NEWS
China Sends Research Satellite Into Space

China eyes Argentina for space antenna

Seven More For Shenzhou

China Signs Up First Female Astronauts

UAV NEWS
Russian Space Freighter Blasts Off To ISS

Soyuz spacecraft redocks on ISS: report

Space station crew to re-position Soyuz

Russian, US astronauts dock with ISS: official

UAV NEWS
Arianespace To Launch Argentine Satellite Arsat-1

Six Astrium Satellites Launched In A Month

Ariane rocket places two satellites into orbit

Ariane 5's Second Launch Of 2010

UAV NEWS
First Directly Imaged Planet Confirmed Around Sun-Like Star

VLT Detects First Superstorm On Exoplanet

Earth-Like Planets May Be Ready For Their Close-Up

Plentiful And Potential Planets

UAV NEWS
Google News revamped to get more personal

Ball Aerospace Begins Integration Of CrlS Instrument For NPP Weather Satellite

ON24 launching virtual briefing centers

Foxconn to move China Apple production as costs rise: media




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement