19/09/2020
IAI Harop : Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV)
WWW.BEFOJJINEWS.IN
Facts:
1️⃣ It is developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. Unlike other UCAV it can not carry any separate High-explosive warhead rather the drone itself is the main munition. The UCAV is specially designed to loiter the battlefield and attack targets by self-destructing into them.
2️⃣ It is an anti-radiation drone that can autonomously home in on radio emissions. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition.
3️⃣ Harop has a range of 1000 km and has been designed to minimize its radar-signature through stealth (low-observability). This anti-radiation drone is designed to target enemy air-defense systems in a first line of attack, as the small drone (with its small Radar Cross Section) can evade SAMs and radar detection systems which are designed to target much larger aircraft or to intercept fixed-trajectory missiles.
4️⃣ Indian Air Force operates IAI Harop anti-radiation drone which can hunt down Chinese based Surface-to-air Missile batteries by autonomously home in on radio emissions.
5️⃣ The long-endurance Harop has the capability of functioning as a tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle. The system can be used across a range of scenarios, from low to high-intensity conflicts, urban warfare and counter-terror operations. Equipped with an electro-optical/infrared seeker providing 360° coverage, the aircraft can search for, detect and attack from long range, high-value mobile, time-critical and moving targets on land or at sea and with pinpoint accuracy, as per IAI.
6️⃣ The IAI Harop has a loiter (flying) time of 6 hours and a range of 1000 km both ways. They are also combat tested as loitering drones were used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and also were reportedly used to destroy an Armenian command post. It has a 23 kg warhead.
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