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Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/538914.html
Israeli Surveillance Drones Thought to be Armed
(Reuters-International Herald Tribune) Recent Israeli airstrikes against militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have raised Palestinian speculation that Israel is arming its surveillance drones with missiles for track-and-kill missions. "I saw a small plane and then a flash of light, then I heard a huge explosion and a car went up in flames," said Abdel Karim Abdel of Jenin, recounting how three militants were slain last week. Israel will not say whether its unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, have offensive capabilities, but Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, says, "The Israelis almost certainly have armed UAV programs on the go right now....The UAVs offer an ideal 'closed loop': spotting the target and then hitting it from the same platform." The U.S. already uses an attack drone, the Predator, one of which killed six people suspected of being al-Qaeda militants in Yemen in November 2002. U.S. avionics firm Northrop Grumman says it has rigged its Israeli-designed Hunter drone with missiles that are completely silent.