Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — The Israeli military has reported a sharp increase in
unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

Officials said the Israel Air Force has increased its UAV operations by
more than 50 percent. They said the increase took place over the last five
years, with persistent surveillance in both the Gaza Strip and southern
Lebanon.

“The flight hours of UAVs require a growing amount of missions, made
possible by the growth of forces in significant numbers in recent years,”
Lt. Col. Amir Weiss, a senior officer in the Air Force’s UAV department,
said.

Addressing the Israel aerospace conference on Nov. 30, Weiss said the
Air Force was flying a range of UAVs, Middle East Newsline reported. He said unmanned platforms have become
“immensely important” in the military for intelligence, surveillance,
reconnaissance missions.

“The spectrum of tasks is growing bigger,” Weiss said. “Already today,
they are active in all types of IAF operations — from intelligence
gathering to supporting ground forces.”

Officials have cited the use of the Heron, Searcher, Skylark and Hermes
UAVs for both tactical and strategic missions. In 2012, the Air Force is
scheduled to begin operations of the Eitan strategic UAV by the state-owned
Israel Aerospace Industries.

Weiss said the Air Force is investing to increase UAV safety and
asserted that platform losses decreased sharply over the last decade. He
also said the Air Force is developing the use of solar energy for unmanned
systems.

“But there is plenty more that UAVs can do,” Weiss said. “There are
endless possibilities for this platform.”

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