Israel-made UAVs gain popularity among world's armies

Published 22 December 2008

Israeli-made Heron UAVs will be introduced to the Afghani theater by the Canadian military; Turkey, India, and Georgia have struck deals for various Israeli UAVs; Russia was impressed with the UAV performance (in Georgian hands) during the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, that the Russian military is buying them

These are good days for Israel’s UAV makers and dealers. Consider this:

  • Israeli-built drones will be seeing service in Afghanistan, thanks to the Canadian military (see 16 October 2008 HS Daily Wire). The Canadian Air Wing based at Kandahar Airfield just received its first Heron unmanned aerial vehicle. The drones are built by Israel Aerospace Industries, and they will patrol the skies over southern Afghanistan, where Canadian troops have been engaged in an intense combat with a resurgent Taliban. The ISAF news release says the surveillance planes will be used for scouting convoy routes and searching for roadside bombs.
  • Both Turkey and India have struck deals for different versions of the Heron UAV.
  • Israel’s Elbit Systems equipped the Georgians with unmanned Hermes 450 reconnaissance plane.
  • Now the Russians are interested in acquiring UAVs from Israel (see 20 November 2008 HS Daily Wire).