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on the lookout Leased Heron time is providing the RAAF with its first operational UAV experience. (Dept of Defence)
Heron UAVs for the RAAF
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Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner announced on September 7 that the RAAF is leasing IAI/Malat Heron UAV operating hours to provide “high resolution” Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for Australian and allied forces in Afghanistan.
The Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) capability, believed to involve two aircraft, came about through Project Nankeen which is the first time the RAAF has operated an unmanned vehicle. Defence has signed a 12 month contract with a two year option with Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to lease the Heron’s services for a one year period. As part of Nankeen, a team of RAAF and Army personnel underwent training on the UAV in Canada in July, and have since been integrated with the Canadian Heron detachment at Kandahar in Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan.
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