Although it looks like a remote-controlled toy, it carries an onboard computer, advanced avionic,s and a high-tech stabilizing payload based on much larger unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Each mini-Skylark costs about $50,000. Elbit Systems, the Israeli manufacturer, says the tiny craft has already logged more than 3,000 operational missions with allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Second Lebanon war in 2006, Skylark mini-UAVs were operated by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units performing close-range reconnaissance missions in support of the ground forces, providing valuable real-time intelligence. Because they are small and almost silent, Skylarks were able to operate at very low altitudes practically undetectable. The Skylark flew more than 600 operational hours for the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last January. The Skylark can stay airborne for more than three hours and, when it's time to land, the operator sends a command that inflates a small airbag under the fuselage and cuts the engine. It simply floats back to the ground, ready to be used again.
Satnews Daily
August 1st, 2009
IDF Can Now Take Offensive and Defensive Looks At... Everything!
The Israeli army has unveiled its latest tactical weapon — a miniature spy-in-the-sky that can be launched by an infantry unit in the battlefield to see over hills up to 10 miles away — in an article published by All Headline News.
Called the Skylark I-LE, it weighs only about 15 pounds and has a wingspan of about nine feet. Carried in a backpack by a foot soldier, it can be assembled by a two-man team and ready for launch by catapult in less than 10 minutes. It is then controlled by a simple laptop computer system. The Skylark does not carry any weapons. Instead, it has a payload of advanced optical and thermal imaging that can send high-resolution images directly to the field unit 24 hours a day, in light or darkness, enabling them to track enemy movements, problems with the terrain, or the presence of non-combatants on the battlefield. It can also be used for force protection and perimeter security, using surveillance to defend against threats within a 10-mile range.
Although it looks like a remote-controlled toy, it carries an onboard computer, advanced avionic,s and a high-tech stabilizing payload based on much larger unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Each mini-Skylark costs about $50,000. Elbit Systems, the Israeli manufacturer, says the tiny craft has already logged more than 3,000 operational missions with allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Second Lebanon war in 2006, Skylark mini-UAVs were operated by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units performing close-range reconnaissance missions in support of the ground forces, providing valuable real-time intelligence. Because they are small and almost silent, Skylarks were able to operate at very low altitudes practically undetectable. The Skylark flew more than 600 operational hours for the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last January. The Skylark can stay airborne for more than three hours and, when it's time to land, the operator sends a command that inflates a small airbag under the fuselage and cuts the engine. It simply floats back to the ground, ready to be used again.
Although it looks like a remote-controlled toy, it carries an onboard computer, advanced avionic,s and a high-tech stabilizing payload based on much larger unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Each mini-Skylark costs about $50,000. Elbit Systems, the Israeli manufacturer, says the tiny craft has already logged more than 3,000 operational missions with allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Second Lebanon war in 2006, Skylark mini-UAVs were operated by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units performing close-range reconnaissance missions in support of the ground forces, providing valuable real-time intelligence. Because they are small and almost silent, Skylarks were able to operate at very low altitudes practically undetectable. The Skylark flew more than 600 operational hours for the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last January. The Skylark can stay airborne for more than three hours and, when it's time to land, the operator sends a command that inflates a small airbag under the fuselage and cuts the engine. It simply floats back to the ground, ready to be used again.