Official: Israel Developing World's Largest Drone

Official: Israel Developing World's Largest Drone

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&5DE8413944F889AEC225725D0023F8F4
Israel is developing the world's largest unmanned aircraft which will be used for long-range operations and destroying ballistic missiles as they are being launched, a security official said Monday.

The Eitan has been developed by the Israel Aircraft Industries and has a wing span of 35 meters -- similar to that of a Boeing 737 passenger plane -- the Israeli official told Agence France Presse.

 

According to the Yediot Aharonot daily, the drone was designed for long endurance and high altitude flights and is equipped with an array of advanced cameras and missiles which allow it to identify and intercept long-range missiles as they are being fired on the ground.

 

It will make its maiden flight in the coming days, the paper said.

 

Israel has stepped up in recent years the development of technologies to face the threat of missile attacks, fearing most notably Iran, which has acquired long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel and beyond.

 

Coupled with President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's calls for the destruction of Israel, Iran's controversial nuclear program, which Israel claims is aimed at acquiring an atomic bomb, has become the Jewish state's main strategic threat.

 

Iran, which last year tested the Shahab-3 missiles that are capable of hitting targets around 2,000 kilometers away, insists the program is aimed solely for peaceful means.(AFP)
 

 

Beirut, 08 Jan 07, 08:34