May 8,
2008: Israel is equipping every combat
battalion with micro-UAVs. It will take several years to complete the
project. Currently, many battalions are
equipped with Skylark UAV systems (three ten pound UAVs, plus one set of ground
control equipment). The Skylark, like
most micro-UAVs, is a battery powered plastic aircraft. It can stay up for 90
minutes per flight and can operate up to ten kilometers from the base station
(radio gear and a laptop computer). The UAV can be equipped with night vision
video equipment, or a color day camera.
The
Israelis pioneered the development of UAVs that worked (the U.S. spent a lot
more money on UAVs, never quite getting it right, before buying Israeli systems
and getting on the right track.) The United States has several thousand
micro-UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Israelis have noted the successes
of these aircraft. The Israelis have been very successful using micro-UAVs in
counter-terror operations. Now these small, remotely controlled aircraft, are
becoming a standard item of combat unit equipments. The current generation of
combat commanders feel very deprived if they have to operate without access to real-time
overhead video.
