Israel Aerospace Industries plans to adapt its Heron unmanned air vehicle to fly with heavy fuel, says Shaul Shahar, manager of the company's Malat division.
"Heavy fuel is an option mainly because clients want commonality in fuel for their land and air platforms, and because it is more secure than regular fuel used today," Shahar says. A test will be performed to understand the full meaning of such a change, he adds.
The use of heavy fuel has been evaluated for some time, first for smaller unmanned air systems such as IAI's Searcher, but it has not resulted in any operational decision. The planned test may determine the future of the adaptation on series production UAS, or as an upgrade for existing users.
Meanwhile, Shahar says there is still no decision about a choice of medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS by France or Germany. Both nations have evaluated the Heron TP, which is the largest UAS produced by IAI.
Shahar says Malat is focusing for now on large UAS, but also "keeps the technologies developed for a line of mini systems". This is part of a business decision by the company to focus its efforts on the most profitable systems, he notes.
Source: Flight International
