Israeli Heron UAS Leasing Extended by Germany

Israeli Heron UAS Leasing Extended by Germany

Heron UAS

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Germany has decided to extend the leasing contract of the Heron UAS, a surveillance unmanned aerial system. IAI’s Heron have recently reached 30,000 operational flight hours in the “Masar A Sharif” area in Afghanistan, according to reports by the German Air Force, the Heron operator in Afghanistan.

Heron UASs have been active in Afghanistan since 2010, under the IAI Heron leasing contract signed by the German Defence Procurement Agency (BAAInBw) and Airbus DS Airborne Solutions GmbH, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space.

According to IAI’s announcement, this important milestone demonstrates the Heron’s diverse capabilities in carrying out operational missions in challenging terrains. Heron is designated for long-term strategic and tactical tasks and can fly under severe weather conditions, carry a large number of payloads and transfer live information to forces in the field and decision-makers. During a number of years of activity in Afghanistan, the Heron has served a variety of other NATO allies, among them France, Canada and Australia.

Due to the considerable operational success of the Heron over the years in Afghanistan, and the German government’s decision to extend its stay in Afghanistan, an additional leasing contract has been given to the German military for operating the Heron in Afghanistan for one more year, until February 2018.

Due to its successful operations in Afghanistan, the German Air Force is presently operating the Heron in Mali as part of a UN policing mission.