The dramatic increase in the use of different types of UAV’s in the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas and Hezbollah terror organizations , will change dramatically the way these unmanned systems will be used.
An Idea that is being evaluated now is to equip the IDF Merkava tanks with UAV’s and drones , to allow the commander to see beyond the current available range,
Another idea is to equip the tanks with loitering weapon systems which will increase the fire footprint of the tanks.
Before the war an evaluation has begun of the possible use of a UAV carrier.
Aircraft and helicopter carriers are serving big navies in the world.
UAV’s are currently operated from navy ships per mission.
But the dramatic change in the mode UAV’s are being operated has again put the idea of a dedicated UAV maritime carrier on the table in Israel.
This mainly because of first lessons from the Ukraine war and the war in Gaza.
The aircraft carriers have proved their affectivity in many navies. The same happened with helicopter carriers. These floating air bases have a task in every major military conflict that erupts where nature put seas and oceans. In recent years navies have come up with an increasing number of operational demands to have UAV on their ships .
This is happening, and in recent years some Israeli manufacturers of UAV have begun to think of the idea.
Aeronautics the Israeli unmanned air system (UAS) manufacturer, is offering the option to operate its Orbiter – 3 UAS from navy ships.
The Orbiter – 3 has a wingspan 0f 4.2 meters a max takeoff weight of 28kgs and an endurance of 7 hours. It carries a 5.5 kg payload
In ground operations it is launched with a catapult and recovered by a combination of parachute and airbag. On ships a special net is used to catch it at the end of the mission.
The adaptation of the Orbiter-3 for sea operations comes some years after its smaller version the Orbiter- 2 has been adapted for that mission and is already in operation on Israeli navy’s vessels.
According to Aeronautics there is a growing demand for the operation of UAV from combat ships. This is in some navies the direct replacement of a deck operated helicopter. The aerial platform are needed mainly for early detection of threats. But as proven in current major conflicts, the armed UAV’s have become an essential asset.
So far the UAV that can operate from ships are the relatively small ones . They usually are launched with some type of catapult and land into a net.
With the new capabilities of different types of UAV’s developed by Israeli companies, the idea is again being evaluated as a future very important capability.
Sources in the Israeli defence industry envision a dedicated carrier with a deck that will enable “different types ” of UAV’s to take off .
The idea gains momentum when 80 % of the total flight hours of the Israeli airforce are performed by different types of UAV’s.
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