ARIE EGOZI / TEL AVIV
Turkey has purchased 108 Harpy anti-radiation weapons from Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) MBT division, and taken options for additional systems. Half the weapons have been delivered, with the rest due to be handed over in the next few months.
No details have been given on the specific features of the Harpy, which can loiter while seeking emitters, but it is known that IAI has been working on advanced versions of the weapon. A recent deal with India is said to include some "advanced versions".
IAI is known to have integrated a datalink with Harpy to allow a ground station or an operator in an airborne platform to update target data in-flight, and to allocate the weapon to a specific emitter. Newer versions are also equipped with dual sensors, an electro-optical seeker as well as the electromagnetic detector.
The present version is ground-launched and flies to a predesignated area before starting its loitering pattern and seeking electromagnetic emissions.
Turkey has awarded Israel Military Industries (IMI) a $57 million contract to equip its military helicopters with chaff/flare dispensers. IMI will be a subcontractor to Turkey's Aselsan, which will integrate the dispensers on the helicopters. IMI has also offered Turkey the Airmor system, which uses an ultra-violet (UV) sensor to detect the launch and trajectory of infrared-guided man-portable air defence systems. If a launch is detected, Airmor provides an audible and visible warning and launches countermeasures. IMI says it opted for the UV sensor as it is less sensitive to clutter than an infrared-based system. It says the system can detect up to eight threats at once, and has a range of 5km (3nm).Source: Flight International
