IAI Harop
| Harop | |
|---|---|
 |
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| IAI Harop at Paris Air Show 2013 | |
| Role | Loitering Munition |
| National origin | Israel |
| Manufacturer | IAI |
| Developed from | IAI Harpy |
The IAI Harop (or IAI Harpy 2) is an loitering munition developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is an anti-radiation drone that can autonomously home in on radio emissions. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition. This SEAD-optimised loitering munition is designed to loiter the battlefield and attack targets by self-destructing into them. The drone can either operate fully autonomously, using its anti-radar homing system, or it can take a man-in-the-loop mode. If a target is not engaged, the drone will return and land itself back at base.
It has been designed to minimize its radar-signature through stealth (low-observability). This anti-radiation drone is designed to target enemy air-defense systems in a first line of attack, as the small drone (with its small Radar Cross Section) can evade SAMs and radar detection systems which are designed to target much larger aircraft or to intercept fixed-trajectory missiles.
The IAI Harop has a loiter (flying) time of 6 hours and a range of 1000 km both ways. It is a larger version of the IAI Harpy and is launched from ground- or sea-based canisters, but can be adapted for air-launch. The Harop can either operate fully autonomously, or it can take a man-in-the-loop mode, being controlled by a remote operator. The Harop features two guidance modes: it can either home in on radio emissions by itself with its anti-radar homing system, or the operator can select static or moving targets detected by the aircraft's electro-optical sensor. This latter mode allows the Harop to attack radars that are presently shut down and therefore not providing emissions for the aircraft to automatically home in on. If a target is not engaged, the drone will return and land itself back at base. The small drone (with a Radar Cross Section similar to a large bird) can evade SAMs and radar detection systems which are designed to target much larger aircraft or to intercept fixed-trajectory missiles.
IAI is developing a smaller version of the Harop for smaller applications, which it will unveil in 2015. The smaller Harop would be one-fifth the size and have a lighter 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb) warhead. It will be cheaper and have a shorter endurance of 2–3 hours to be used tactically against time-critical targets or ones that hide and re-appear.
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Wikipedia