IAI Harop :- India’s Anti Radiation Predator Drones

The IAI Harop (or IAI Harpy 2) is an unmanned Combat air vehicle (UCAV) developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries.Unlike other UCAV it can not carry any separate High-explosive warhead rather the drone itself is the main munition.The UCAV is specially designed to loiter the battlefield and attack targets by self-destructing into them.

It is an anti-radiation drone that can autonomously home in on radio emissions. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition. This SEAD-optimised loitering munition is designed to loiter the battlefield and attack targets by self-destructing into them.The drone can either operate fully autonomously, using its anti-radar homing system, or it can take a man-in-the-loop mode. If a target is not engaged, the drone will return and land itself back at base.

It has been designed to minimize its radar-signature through stealth (low-observability). This anti-radiation drone is designed to target enemy air-defense systems in a first line of attack, as the small drone (with its small Radar Cross Section) can evade SAMs and radar detection systems which are designed to target much larger aircraft or to intercept fixed-trajectory missiles.

Indian Air Force operates IAI Harop anti-radiation drone which can hunt down Chinese based Surface-to-air Missile batteries by autonomously home in on radio emissions. The long-endurance Harop has the capability of functioning as a tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle. The system can be used across a range of scenarios, from low to high-intensity conflicts, urban warfare and counter-terror operations. Equipped with an electro-optical/infrared seeker providing 360° coverage, the aircraft can search for, detect and attack from long range, high-value mobile, time-critical and moving targets on land or at sea and with pinpoint accuracy, as per IAI. After launch, a Harop air vehicle navigates towards a target area and loiters while searching for targets. If an attack mission is aborted, the UAV can be returned to loitering mode before making a new strike. Another Harop can be used to deliver real-time video to support battle damage assessment tasks.

Harop has a range of 1000 km and has been designed to minimize its radar-signature through stealth (low-observability). This anti-radiation drone is designed to target enemy air-defense systems in a first line of attack, as the small drone (with its small Radar Cross Section) can evade SAMs and radar detection systems which are designed to target much larger aircraft or to intercept fixed-trajectory missiles. The IAI Harop has a loiter (flying) time of 6 hours and a range of 1000 km both ways. They are also combat tested as loitering drones were used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and also were reportedly used to destroy an Armenian command post. It has a 23 kg warhead.

The Harop navigates and loiters in the combat area after it is launched from a vehicle-mounted container.The Harop anti-radar homing system allows it to attack the radio-emitting and moving targets. A non-emitting target such as shutdown radars and suspected ballistic missile sites are detected by the electro-optical sensor of the RF seeker. It allows the operator to attack these targets, which are not detected by the automated homing system.

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