I showed some blurry pix of this a few weeks back.

I’m a bit dubious of it being used for aerial refuelling. I think that pilots will want a man in the loop.

After months of being coy(Subscription Requited)

After months of being coy, Israeli defense and aerospace officials have admitted their huge new unmanned aircraft–the Eitan or Heron TP–does exist and will be on public display this week at the Paris air show.

A few poor-quality bootleg pictures of the unmanned, missile-carrying aircraft leaked out last month (AW&ST May 21, p. 32). Now the Defense Ministry has given Israel Aerospace Industries permission to release pictures. The UAV has been test flown sufficiently since its first flight last July that IAI says it is ready for serial production.

TP stands for the Eitan’s 1,200-hp. turboprop engine, which will give the UAV an operational altitude above the 45,000-ft. limit for commercial aircraft. The 10,230-lb. aircraft has a wingspan of 85.28 ft. and loiter time of 36 hr. Descriptions of its capabilities and missions are vaguely worded. The “multi-payload, multi-mission” aircraft carries “front end technologies to meet . . . a large variety of operational missions,” IAI and Israeli Defense Forces officials say.

But there are hints about the capabilities. The high-altitude capability, emphasis on reliability and long loiter time, as well as large internal payload volume and weight, indicate the UAV could serve at least three key missions: defense against ballistic missile launchers and, later, ballistic missiles in boost phase; long-term surveillance and intelligence collection; and as a refueling tanker to operate in areas where large manned aircraft would be vulnerable.

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