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IAF introduces drone fleet
AP by way of JPost ^ | 21/02/2010 18:03 | BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 02/21/2010 8:50:31 AM PST by Track9

The Israel Air Force on Sunday introduced a fleet of large unmanned planes it claims can fly as far as Iran.

Air force officials said the Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 26 meters, making them the size of passenger jets. They said the planes can fly 20 consecutive hours, and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying payloads.

The drones, built by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, were first used during Israel's Gaza war last year.

At an inauguration ceremony Sunday, officials refused to say how large the new fleet is or whether the planes were designed for use against Iran.


TOPICS: Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 02/21/2010 8:50:31 AM PST by Track9
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To: Track9

Note: it's a turboprop.....

2 posted on 02/21/2010 8:57:15 AM PST by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: Robe

Yes.. quiet.. no heat signature.


3 posted on 02/21/2010 8:59:00 AM PST by Track9 (The measure of a good education is knowing what truly sets you free)
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To: Track9

Slow and low cruise missiles.


4 posted on 02/21/2010 9:01:40 AM PST by Centurion2000 (Something is seriously wrong when the .gov plans to treat citizens worse than they treat terrorists)
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To: sonofstrangelove; SunkenCiv; Yehuda

*ping*


5 posted on 02/21/2010 9:02:46 AM PST by hennie pennie
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To: Track9

Well losd them up and get them on their way to bomb hell out of Iran.
PLEASE.
Cause this marxist muslim scum obammy isn’t gonna do squat.


6 posted on 02/21/2010 9:02:55 AM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Obammy is little more than a quota boy.)
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To: Track9

I am confident to say that this technology was gifted by the Bush Administration to Israel long before leaving office.


7 posted on 02/21/2010 9:04:31 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (Too many conservatives urge retreat when the war of politics doesn't go their way.)
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To: Track9
“Yes.. quiet.. no heat signature.”

Quiet is a relative characteristic and, dependent on its altitude, may have no operational advantage or disadvantage.

Everything has a heat signature (even a free balloon), and is detectable. A night sky provides a relatively uniform background to observe airborne objects. Whether the aircraft is piston, propjet, turbojet or turbofan there is a heat signature (though there are technologies to suppress this). This aircraft does not appear to be terribly stealthy so it would be interesting to see what sort of radar signature it might have. Understand that during an airborne attack on Iran, their radar would be severely compromised.

It will be interesting to see what advantages (if any) this model may have over the propjet powered RPV’s the US is operating.

8 posted on 02/21/2010 9:30:26 AM PST by Habibi ("It is vain to do with more what can be done with less." - William of Occam)
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To: Habibi
Understand that during an airborne attack on Iran, their radar would be severely compromised.

Could you eloborate? Would the Iranian's ground radar be compromised?

9 posted on 02/21/2010 10:33:16 AM PST by gr8eman (Everybody is a rocket scientist...until launch day!)
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To: gr8eman

“Would the Iranian’s ground radar be compromised? “

Well, let me put it this way. Were I in charge of organizing an air attack against Iran, this would be one my first priorities. Understand that the Iranian air defense system does not have a great asset in their fighters. The jamming would be primarily beneficial against ground to air missile systems. So, yes the ground radar would be compromised (one way or the others) as it was in Iraq.


10 posted on 02/21/2010 11:36:48 AM PST by Habibi ("It is vain to do with more what can be done with less." - William of Occam)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...

11 posted on 02/22/2010 7:28:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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