Successful Tests Prove Spectrum of Capabilities

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and 2Excel Aviation have demonstrated the Maritime Heron UAS to British government, military and industry observers in a series of live, beyond-visual-line-of-sight maritime search and ISR scenarios.

Ready to fly within 36 hours of arriving at the test site, the Heron UAS maintained full serviceability throughout the deployment, achieving 100% of its planned scenarios, despite challenging weather conditions. The system demonstrated capability in missions including SAR, border protection, fisheries patrol, safety at sea, small boat detection and surveillance.

Rule-based scenarios were demonstrated via IAI’s Starlight data exploitation tool, with input from the Heron’s multi-mission radar, EO/IR sensor and AIS. Starlight’s AI and data processing engine then generated points of interest to produce actionable intelligence. Data gathered was simultaneously broadcast to physical and virtual attendees using IAI’s Commander’s Remote Imagery Situation Picture (CRISP) data dissemination tool.

“This demonstration signifies the growing bond between IAI and the UK industry. The Heron UAS is a cutting-edge, world-class system, paired with IAI’s supportive data-gathering and analysis technology, which provides the customer with tailored solutions,” commented Moshe Levy, General Manager of IAI’s Military Aircraft Group.

“2Excel and IAI together demonstrated they can operate a very capable Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) platform in the UK within the constraints of the current regulatory environment […] The feedback from the UK Civil Aviation Authority was very positive and we feel confident about the roadmap for future unmanned operations across our suite of contract air services,” added 2Excel Aviation Director, Andy Offer.

For a brief video of the demonstration, click here.