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March 13, 2023       Share:    

Source: https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/exclusive-israels-black-snake-armed-drone-squadron-comes-out-of-the-shadows/

Inside Israel's Armed Drone Squadron

(Breaking Defense) Arie Egozi - Israel Air Force (IAF) Squadron 161 operates the Hermes-450 "Zik" armed drone, primarily in counter-terror missions over the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon. Some 80% of IAF flight hours are performed by UAVs. "UAVs replace manned aircraft in more and more missions. The number goes up all the time," said Maj. M., deputy commander of the squadron. She noted that all missions are controlled by a mission commander and an operator seated side-by-side, watching the data transmitted by the UAV. We "can launch a number of armed UAVs in minutes." Some operations provide persistent overwatch of an area identified as a hub of terrorist activity, to spot a crew heading out to launch a rocket into Israel. "There is a person in the loop all the time so that the mission can be aborted if there is a danger of hitting" innocents, she stressed.

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