The Israeli UAV industry – The ArrowLite And HoverLite

The Israeli UAV industry – The ArrowLite And HoverLite

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

The second article in the series on the Israeli UAV Industry.

By ARIE EGOZI

IAI sees the USA as a very big potential market and through its local subsidiaries is trying to get chunks of it.

In mid 2014 Stark Aerospace has unveiled its ArrowLite hand launched, single operator tactical UAS

The ArrowLite was designed, developed and manufactured by Stark Aerospace , a subsidiary of IAI North America with support from the Program Manager for Tactical Operations Support (PM TOS), Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO).  CTTSO awarded Stark a contract to develop the ArrowLite system for use by special operations and counter terrorism small tactical units of dominance. Thirteen systems, consisting of thirty-nine  air vehicles, associated ground support equipment, and spares have been delivered to date.

According to Stark Aerospace the ArrowLite provides the tactical operator with a rapidly deployable light weight (under 6.5 lbs.) aerial ISR capability: that can be quickly assembled and hand-launched in 60 to 90 seconds after removal from a water proof transport carry case; features a day/night thermal 2-axis mechanically gimbaled stabilized payload with laser illuminator and data-link. The ArrowLite system can survive rugged environmental conditions and can support a variety of missions.

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In 2014 IAI has continued with its efforts to penetrate the U.S market for hovering intelligence gathering platforms when Stark Aerospace has unveiled the HoverLite tactical tethered hovering aerial ISR system

The systems has been developed as part of a rapid research and development effort sponsored by the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO). According to Stark, the  HoverLite provides exceptional asymmetric observation and surveillance capabilities supporting military, homeland security and civilian missions for pop-up surveillance, border patrol, crowd monitoring, and emergency rapid response missions.

Rising to a height of 165 ft. in 15 seconds, HoverLite is secured by a tether providing power and bi-directional signals to and from the aerial platform and its payload. The HoverLite can be operated on the move and broadcasts ISR products to users on the network or local with no signature.

The platform is capable of carrying any payload of up to 13.2 lbs and is suitable for a wide range of small platforms including pick-up trucks, ATVs, UGVs/USVs (unmanned ground /surface vehicles), boats, communication vehicles, etc.

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