IAI Harop

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Harop
IAI Harop at Paris Air Show 2013
Role Loitering munition
National origin Israel
Manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries
Developed from IAI Harpy

The IAI Harop is a loitering munition developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. Loitering munitions are designed to loiter above the battlefield and attack targets by crashing into them and exploding.[1]

Overview[edit]

The IAI Harop has a loiter (flying) time of 6 hours and a range of 200 km both ways. It is a larger version of the IAI Harpy and is launched from ground or sea-based canisters, but can be adapted for air launch.[1] The Harop uses a man-in-the-loop mode, being controlled by a remote operator.[2] The Harop operator can select static or moving targets detected by the aircraft's electro-optical sensor.[1]

side view.

IAI developed a smaller version of the Harop for smaller applications called Mini-Harop or Green Dragon.[3] The smaller Harop is one-fifth the size and has a lighter 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb) warhead. It has a shorter endurance of 2–3 hours and is used tactically against time-critical targets or ones that hide and re-appear.[4]

History[edit]

Turkey may have been the launch customer for the Harop in 2005.[5] In October 2005, MBDA submitted the Harop (under the name "White Hawk") to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence for consideration as the system for the Ministry's Loitering Munition Capability Demonstration (LMCD) program, otherwise known as "Fire Shadow".[6][7] The Harop was selected as one of the finalists but was rejected when the MoD decided that the contract should go to a British team.[6]

In August 2007, the government of India was negotiating to purchase eight to ten Harop systems.[2] In September 2009, the Indian Air Force announced that it will be inducting the Harop systems purchased for US$100 million "for up to 10 drones".[8] The Harop was publicly unveiled to the world for the first time in India, in the lead-up to the Aero India 2009 show.[6] In February 2019, the Indian Air Force decided to add another 54 Harop drones to its fleet of around 110 of these drones, which they had renamed P-4.[9]

Combat history[edit]

It was first used in combat by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in April 2016.[10][11] IAI Harop drones operated by Azerbaijan were used to destroy buses of Armenian soldiers being transported to the frontline.[12] The loitering drones were also reportedly used to destroy an Armenian command post. In April 2018, IAI systems were observed in a film made by the Azerbaijan Army, specifically the IAI Harop loitering munition system, resulting in criticism from the Armenian government concerning the supply of Israeli arms to the Azerbaijan Army.[13] The Israeli Defense Forces Harop was also credited for destroying a Syrian Air Defence SA-22 Greyhound on 10 May 2018.[14] It was also used by the Azerbaijan Air Force in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[15] In 2020, Hikmet Hajiyev, an advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, praised the effectiveness of the Harop in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[16]

Operators[edit]

Specifications[edit]

Data from FlightGlobal,[1] IAI[21]

General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Length: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
  • Communication range: 200 km (120 mi)
  • RCS: <0.5m2

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 417 km/h (259 mph, 225 kn)
  • Range: 200 km (120 mi, 110 nmi)
  • Endurance: 9 hours
  • Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,000 ft)

Armament

  • 23 kg (51 lb) warhead
  • CEP: <.5 m (1 ft 8 in) with 16 kg (35 lb) warhead

[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Israel special - IAI's Harop ups the stakes on SEAD missions". Archived from the original on 2020-10-31.
  2. ^ a b "India eyes IAI's Harop attack UAV". Jane's Defence Weekly. 28 August 2007.
  3. ^ "Mini Harop". IAI. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  4. ^ IAI developing smaller tactical Harop loitering munition Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine - Flightglobal.com, 28 October 2014
  5. ^ Sweetman, Bill (11 February 2009). "IAI Predicts Big UAV Market - And Unveils Loitering Missile". Ares: A Defense Technology Blog. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22.
  6. ^ a b c "Israel Unveils Loitering Anti-Missile Drone". Defense Update. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  7. ^ "Rivals unveil concepts for loitering munition demo". Flight International. 20 September 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20.
  8. ^ "IAF plans to induct Harop UCAV by 2011". The Times Of India. 2009-09-30. Archived from the original on 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  9. ^ Indian Air Force buys another 54 Israeli HAROP drones Archived 2019-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, DebkaFile, Feb 13, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Arminfo: Azerbaijan uses Israel-made Harop drone against NKR". arminfo.am. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  11. ^ Sanchez, Raf (8 April 2016). "'Suicide drone' used for first time in fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  12. ^ "Azerbaijan Used IAI's Harop UCAV". 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  13. ^ Kubovich, Yaniv. "Advanced Israeli Weapons Sold to Azerbaijan Exposed in Army-produced Pop Music Video". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Syrian air defense system destroyed by Israel was allegedly unarmed". Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  15. ^ "Artsakh downs Azeri Harop loitering munitions above Stepanakert". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  16. ^ "Azerbaijan praises 'very effective' Israeli drones in fighting with Armenia". Times of Israel. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ Անօդաչու սարքի անկումը Մարտակերտում. 4 April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "Moroccan air force orders Harop loitering munitions". defensa.com. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Indian air force orders Harop loitering munitions". Flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  20. ^ Martin Streetly, ed. (2014). Jane's All the World's Aircraft: Unmanned 2014-2015. London: IHS Jane's. p. 101. ISBN 978-0710630964.
  21. ^ "HAROP Loitering Munition System". Archived from the original on 2020-10-31.
  22. ^ "Edinburgh Drone Company". Edinburghdronecompany.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IAI Harop.
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