IAI’s Heron will compete in Canada for Arctic missions

IAI’s Heron will compete in Canada for Arctic missions

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11545349_s - CopyThe Israel aerospace industries (IAI) Heron unmanned air system (UAS) will compete in a Canadian tender to supply an advanced system for  operation in the Arctic.

Canada’s military wants its next unmanned aircraft system to be cap­able of dropping search-and-rescue sup­plies in the Arctic and in other areas as it looks to expand UAS roles into activities formerly conducted by manned platforms.

According to UAS Vision Canada plans to spend between CAN $1 billion (US $998 million) and $1.5 billion on a new fleet of UAS.

Lieutenant-General Yvan Blondin, head of the Royal Canadian Air Force, explained “I would like to have a UAS that can carry some equipment, whether it is weapons or other equipment, to be able, when it is patrolling the Arctic, to carry a search-and-rescue package that I can drop any time I want or need to,” Blondin said.

“For UAS, we are looking at the requirement to work from home to be able to do maritime patrol, to do a bit of what the Auroras are doing and be able to patrol the coast,” he added.

Aurora maritime surveillance aircraft are a variant of the US Navy’s P-3 Orion.

UASs are also going to need greater range and endurance for long patrols, and “be our eyes in the sky in the Arctic”, said Blondin.

The Air Force did not respond to questions about whether it would be willing to fund research and testing into adding equipment transport capability to UAS.

But a National Defense Department source said the Air Force hopes industry will provide solutions to Canada’s project to purchase the UAS, known as the Canadian Forces Joint UAV Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS).

Heron TP, IAI
Heron TP, IAI