Since the war broke out on Oct. 7 , the Israeli airforce ( IAF) armed UAV’s killed a great number of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist while they prepared rockets for launch into Israel.
“These armed UAV’s proved that they are a critical tool in this type of war where most of the targets “pop up” for a few seconds from their hiding places”
Zona Miltar recently visited Squadron 161, the “Black Snake” that operates the Elbit systems Hermes -450 UAV (Zik)., Â
This squadron is a major contributor to the fact that 80 % of the total flight hours performed by the force are of different types of UAV’s.
Squadron 161, operates the Elbit systems Hermes -450 UAV (Zik) , one of the unmanned systems armed with different types of munitions. These munitions have been developed by Israeli companies and according to sources are very accurate and deadly. The details of these munitions missiles and bombs, are highly classified. New versions are added to the arsenal that was developed for use on this UAV.
Recently , after 20 years a gag order has been removed and Israel has confirmed that its air force has been using armed UAV.
Squadron 161 operates from the Palmachim air base in central Israel.
According to Elbit systems The Hermes-450can be quickly deployed. The company says that the systems’ ground control system is used for mission management (GCS) and that with two ground data terminals, the Hermes 450 can carry out two missions simultaneously from a single GCS (GDT)
The Hermes -450 has a take off weight of 550 kg and can carry a 180 kg payload.
The UAV has a 17 hours endurance and can operate in altitudes of up to 18.000 feet.
According to Elbit the Hermes-450 is equipped according to mission with different types of payloads
One of the squadron officers , told me that all the missions are controlled from a two men station in the base .The mission commander and the operator seat side by side watching the data transmitted by the UAV.
“We get targets from the high command and they are allocated to platforms already over the designated area or to others that are in the area . We are on high alert and can launch a number of armed UAV’s in minutes” the officer said.
According to the IAF officer , some missions the squadron’s UAV’s are operated in conjunction with UAV’s from other squadrons.
The IAF operates other types of armed UVA’s ,like the Elbit systems Hermes-900 and the Israeli aerospace industries (IAI) Heron-TP .
” Our UAV are flying over an area to collect intelligence . When a target is detected and confirmed , the mission commander approves the launch of the special munitions. There is always a man in the loop so that the mission can be immediately aborted if there is a danger of hitting the not involved” the officer said.
As the Hermes -450 is heavily operated over Gaza, the targets are in most cases not static – crews of Hamas preparing the launch of rockets into Israel and commanders moving in cars or riding motorcycles on their way to perform an attack against Israel. This requires almost real time sensor to shooter sequences.
“We are capable of real time sensor to shooter operations and this is enabled by the accurate intelligence gathered by the UAV’s payload combined with additional details that we receive from other sources” The squadrons’ officer said.
The Hermes -450 is powered by a Wankel engine. This is an internal combustion engine that transforms pressure into rotating motion through an eccentric rotary design.
The engine is very noisy and that enables the enemy to know it is approaching the potential combat area.
In the past , mufflers have been attached to the engine in an attempt to lower the noise level .
The mufflers have lowered the power generated by the engine and the UAV is therefore emitting high levels of noise .
According to the officer this noise does not create a problem.
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