Kentron Seeker
| Denel Dynamics Seeker | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Seeker 400 drone flies over Cape Town Stadium | |
| Role | Remote piloted aircraft, UAV/UAS |
| Manufacturer | Denel Dynamics |
| Introduction | 1986 (South African Air Force) |
| Retired | 1994 (South African Air Force) |
| Status | Retired in South African Air Force, In service with other organizations. |
| Primary users |
Denel Dynamics on behalf of the South African Air Force, South African National Parks (leased by Denel Dynamics) Algerian Air Force, United Arab Emirates Air Force |
The Denel Dynamics Seeker is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured in South Africa by Denel Dynamics (formerly Kentron). The system is designed to perform tactical reconnaissance in real-time and can conduct day and night surveillance in all threat environments.
The Seeker UAV first saw active service with the South African Air Force (SAAF) and equipped 10 Squadron SAAF which was based at Air Force Base Potchefstroom. It first saw use during Operations Modular, Hooper and Packer in Angola during 1987/1988 and was used in order to provide reconnaissance and artillery weapons delivery guidance for the South African Defence Force during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, the last battle of the South African Border War. The UAVs also conducted several surveillance operations to gather intelligence on enemy locations, movements, their force strength and most importantly intelligence on the location of static and mobile surface-to-air missile systems. This information was then dissected by the SAAF intelligence community to plan air-strikes, interception routes as well as mission briefings to keep friendly aircraft out of harms way.
Hostile Angolan (FAPLA) forces as well as their Cuban allies were forced to fire their expensive 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in an attempt to down these small drones. This also indirectly resulted in depleting the enemy's SAM supplies which led to less risky operations by other combat aircraft in the SAAF. During one reported occasion about 17 SA-8 SAMs were fired at a single UAV, eventually downing it. During the span of the deployment only three UAVs were lost.
...
Wikipedia