The Israeli air force is negotiating the purchase of Heron medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned air vehicles from Israel Aircraft Industries and is believed to be close to signing a contract. The new UAV will carry payloads such as a synthetic aperture radar and "multi-sensor" systems, say service sources. It is not clear whether the air force's Herons will be powered by the baseline 100hp (74.6kW) Rotax petrol engine, or a recently integrated Volkswagen diesel engine generating 180hp and offering increased endurance.
Source: Flight International
