ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries (IAI) is about to start test-flying a maritime-surveillance, radar-equipped, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
Radar manufacturer Elta has developed a variant of its EL/M-2022A maritime-surveillance radar. The radar will be flown on the IAI Heron.
Elta has redesigned the radar's antenna to allow it to be carried by a UAV. Designated the EL/M-2022 U, the radar weighs about 40kg and has multi-target-track-while-scan capability of up to 32 targets. Its typical detection range of small ships is 120km (64nm).
Malat, IAI's UAV manufacturer, is preparing the E-Hunter for its first flight. This is the upgraded version aimed at meeting the US Army's requirement for a Tier II medium-altitude-endurance (MAE) UAV system. The first flight is scheduled for mid-June.
The E-Hunter uses the fuselage of the Hunter short-range UAV now entering service with the US Army, coupled with the wings and tail of Malat's long-endurance, high-altitude, Heron UAV.
The 16.6m-long wing will give the E-Hunter an endurance of 30h at up to 15,000ft (4,600m).
Source: Flight International
