Article

2012-01-29 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel's most advanced drone crashes in test flight

The Heron TP, Israel's most advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed Sunday morning during a test flight near the Tel Nof Air Force Base in central Israel. mNo injuries were reported in the incident.

The Israel Air Force launched a probe to determine the cause of the crash and was looking into the whether it was caused by human error or was the result of a technical malfunction.

The Heron TP is the largest UAV in the IAF. It has a 26 - meter-long wingspan -- the size of a Boeing 737 -- and can stay airborne for up to 45 hours. It can carry 1,000 kg. in payloads, making it capable of conducting a wide variety of missions.

The flight during which the crash occurred was a joint operation of the IAF and the Heron TP's developer, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

In July, France announced its decision to purchase the Heron TP in the first export deal for the UAV. The deal is estimated to reach close to $500 million over a number of years and could lead to additional contracts for IAI as other countries, such as Germany, seek to upgrade their UAV capabilities.

The Heron TP was declared on schedule to be operational by the end of the year.

According to foreign reports, it has the ability to also launch missiles, and in Israel it is often referred to as the UAV "that can reach Iran."

Posted by tipper 2012-01-29 07:03|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ] Top

#1 Whoever makes the first UAV heavy bomber capable of a B-52 sized payload of about 4000kg is going to get a huge number of orders--if they permit export.

Posted by Anonymoose 2012-01-29 09:15|| 2012-01-29 09:15|| Front Page Top

#2 Re this and complaints about US UAVs crashing..
It better that a robot crashes than a manned plane!
That thought tends to get lost by the press. There is no Hanoi Hilton to empty out with the WoT... a few dead robots? Who cares...

Posted by Water Modem 2012-01-29 10:40|| 2012-01-29 10:40|| Front Page Top

#3 You'd think that's coming. If you have air supremacy a BUFF-sized drone that can orbit all day and drop smart bombs on command makes a lot of sense.

Posted by Steve White 2012-01-29 10:44|| 2012-01-29 10:44|| Front Page Top

#4 Doesn't seem like it should be that hard to convert most current generation heavy aircraft to be bombers; as long as they're fly-by-wire it's mainly a software thing. And most modern airliners CAN land by autopilot (though they don't.) Now, defending the drone, making it difficult to see with radar, etc. are tougher. Heck, Germany had drone bomber in 1942 (V-1) - targeting was iffy and they weren't intended to make the round trip, but ...

Posted by Glenmore 2012-01-29 10:49|| 2012-01-29 10:49|| Front Page Top

#5 Oh noes! Failure in testing, call the whole program off. /eye roll.

As for the V-1, it was more a cruise missile than a bomber.

Posted by SteveS 2012-01-29 14:16|| 2012-01-29 14:16|| Front Page Top

#6 OK, SteveS. But if Israel has an airframe, a guidance system, a payload, and range, then from Iran's perspective Israel has a bomber drone.

Posted by Glenmore 2012-01-29 14:25|| 2012-01-29 14:25|| Front Page Top

#7 #1 the USDOD is already looking into it.

versus

* TOPIX > [Jericho III] ISRAELI ICBM TEST RAISES POSSIBILITY OF EMP ATTACK ON IRAN.

At best a delay for OWG Caliphate-happy Rising Iran + Radical Islam.

* WORLD NEWS > IRAN A YEAR AWAY FROM NUKE [2013], SAYS US DEFENCE SECRETARY LEON PANETTA, + prob another 2-3 years away as per dev a reliable LR Delivery Sys for same.

On a separate note, I can't help but notice that after DESERT STORM, the anti-Bush,GOP Lefts + MSM kept harping the general rant "NO WMDS IN IRAQ" to criticize same when they really meant Nuclear Weapons - NOW WID IRAN, ITS "NUKES" PER SE WHILE IGNORING THE NON-NUKE WMDS. DITTO PER "DIRTY NUKES" + LOW-YIELD EMP WEAPS.

SAME FALSE ARGUMENT OR CRITICISM, JUST VEE DIFFERENT OR OPPOSITE DIRECTION???

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-29 22:02|| 2012-01-29 22:02|| Front Page Top

#8 Just "Who" puts this stuff out there for "public consumption" in the first place? It really pisses me off. They should be summarily "shot at Sunrise".

Posted by Bugs Glomoque3110 2012-01-29 23:34|| 2012-01-29 23:34|| Front Page Top

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