Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a contract with an undisclosed Asian country to provide support services for the Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The UAS services contract is valued at $200m. It is the fourth major UAS transaction announced by IAI this year.
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Heron is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV system primarily designed to perform strategic reconnaissance and surveillance operations.
It is designed and manufactured by IAI at its Malat division, Israel, in partnership with the Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA).
The advanced system offers fully automated take-off and landing, even under adverse weather conditions.
The Heron family leads the company’s range of UAVs. Different Heron models are currently in service with 20 customers worldwide.
IAI president and CEO Boaz Levy said: “The deal is a testament to our customers’ strong satisfaction with the Heron UAVs, including their operational and technical performance.
“Our customers repeatedly choose the Heron for its broad range of intelligence collection missions in different ground and weather settings.”
The Heron UAS can be fitted with line-of-sight (LoS) communication or satellite communication (SATCOM) and features ‘long runner’ operational flexibility.
It also features automated remote take-off, landing, and control without any need for deploying a control post near the runway.
In January, IAI agreed to sell and lease two Heron MK II UAV systems to an undisclosed country in central Asia.
