Greece signs contract with Israel Aerospace Industries to lease Heron UAVs

Photo Courtesy: Israel MoD

As a result of expanding defence relations between Israel and Greece, Greek Armed Forces has leased naval variant of “Heron” surveillance drones for three years, Israel Ministry of Defense announced.

“As part of the deal, the Ministry of Defense for the Greek army will lease the ‘Heron’ system in a naval configuration for three years, with an option to purchase the system at the end of the period,” the Israeli MoD posted on its official Twitter account.

Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the agreement was signed digitally.

As part of the agreement, the Israel Ministry of Defense will lease the Heron system in its maritime configuration to Greece over three years, with an option to purchase the system upon completion of the leasing period. The Heron system, equipped with both day and night activity platforms, maritime patrol radars and satellite communications, offers extended operational endurance in a wide range of scenarios including maritime patrol, marine and land border protection, search and rescue, disaster managementת and more.

The system is operational in the IDF and naval forces around the world and has demonstrated its capabilities in Greece as well.

Head of the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT), Brig. Gen. (Res.), Yair Kulas said: “The great security relations between Israel and Greece are expanding. We see great importance in the choice made by Greece to equip its forces with an Israeli system, particularly during the global corona crisis. This is a clear expression of confidence in the capabilities and strength of the Israeli defense industry. We hope to sign additional agreements with Greece as well as other European partners, assisting them in addressing security challenges – in times of the corona pandemic and beyond.”

Israel Aerospace Industries-built Maritime Heron UAS consists of a Land- or sea-based Unified Control System (UCS), a Ground data terminal (GDT), Mission-oriented payloads and SATCOM. A typical operational configuration consists of a maritime patrol radar (MPR) with multi-mode functions, an electro-optical sensor with day/night capabilities and an optional electronic intelligence (ELINT) package. The system is capable of utilizing customer furnished sensor suites.

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Technical details of HERON UAV

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