Israel to Deliver Four Herons to Turkey in March 2010

Israel will send four Herons, first part of an order for 10 unmanned aerial vehicles, to Turkey in March, Turkish officials said on Thursday. Delivery is subject to Turkish approval by a delegation arrived in Israel earlier this week for final tests and technical examinations. Turkey awarded a contract in 2005, ordering 10 drones from Israeli manufacturers Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit. Both contractors agreed with Turkey to pay fines as they breached deadlines for delivery, officials said.

Rest of the order for 10 Herons will arrive in Turkey by the end of 2010, according to Turkish officials. The Heron UAV System is an operational fourth generation long-endurance medium-altitude system based on leading-edge technology with new fully automatic take-off and landing features. It provides deep-penetration, wide-area, real-time intelligence day and night. The Heron can climb up to an altitude of 30,000 feet with a range of 350 kilometers and a continuous flight for at least 24 hours. It can carry out strategic reconnaissance and surveillance of six targets at once.

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