30-08-2006, 18:55
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מומחה לתעופה, תעופה צבאית, חלל ולווינות. חוקר בכיר במכון פישר
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חבר מתאריך: 02.07.05
הודעות: 11,691
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המאמר המקורי עליו התבססה הידיעה
בתגובה להודעה מספר 1 שנכתבה על ידי טל ענבר שמתחילה ב "צה"ל הפעיל במלחמה בלבנון מל"טים חמושים מדגם "הרמס 450""
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ובה הקטע:
Armed UAVs were employed by the IAF throughout the war, but without any great visibility. But toward the end of the conflict, few missiles were fired from UAVs during the daytime, and they were spotted by ground observers. A least one of them claimed he was in a convoy of civilian automobiles that was attacked.
As recently as June, Israeli aerospace industry officials said the decision had not been made to arm the UAVs for political reasons. IAF officials simply would not discuss the capability. Israeli industry officials said the first UAV designed to carry and launch missiles would not be rolled out for another 18 months. That may be true in a strict sense, but it's now known that an "already-developed [UAV] capability," was adapted to fire missiles in this latest conflict, says an Israeli official with insight into the effort.
Details are still sketchy about which aircraft was used. Several officials in Israel say the armed UAVs are not Israel Aircraft Industries' Heron, which just became operational in July, nor the longer-serving Searcher II. The only other operational UAV deemed big enough to carry an effective weapons payload is Elbit's Hermes 450. The Hermes 450 was seen in flight in 2002 at Palmachim AB, where it was being operated by 200 (UAV) squadron. The IAF has always been guarded about the UAV's mission and status. The military said it was only in a test program, but aerospace industry officials contradicted them, saying that the Hermes 450 was already flying operational missions.
While denying any insight into Israeli wartime missions, U.S. aerospace officials point out that Northrop Grumman demonstrated missile-firing capability--with four Hellfire missiles, sensors and weapons pylons--using an IAI Heron derivative. Called the Hunter 2 for the U.S. Army's extended-range multi-purpose UAV program, the UAV was demonstrated in January 2005. The system was subsequently deployed to Iraq carrying the Viper Strike weapons package, but it was only used in the surveillance role.
However, as early as 2003, the IAF was planning to arm UAVs. Planners decided that too much of their weaponry was designed for the antitank mission and had proved unsuited for urban combat during the West Bank fighting in 2002. For example, antiarmor weapons would punch through buildings without harming the insurgent fighters inside. What was needed was a weapon that would explode in a building's interior. They also complained that the TOW missiles carried by the U.S.'s UAVs had too small a warhead and lacked sufficient range.
To answer those needs, Rafael developed the Spike-ER (extended-range) missile, with a range of about 5 mi., that offers a dual electro-optical and infrared seeker to help locate concealed targets (AW&ST June 16, 2003, p. 151). Another advantage over the Hellfire is that the Spike can be flown into the target by an operator, or it can be operated as a fire-and-forget system.
In fact, Rafael has devised several air-launched configurations for Spike-ER, including a four-pack launcher for use on such attack helicopters as the Cobra, but also two-pack versions for smaller rotorcraft. A Hermes 450, with a payload capacity of around 150 kg. (330 lb.), is able to carry two missiles with launcher equipment .
נערך לאחרונה ע"י יוסיפון בתאריך 30-08-2006 בשעה 21:00.
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