Israeli-origin UAV completes test flights in the USA

WASHINGTON [MENL] — An Israeli-origin unmanned aerial vehicle has completed a series of tests for the U.S. Army.

The Hunter-2 demonstrator was said to have successfully completed a series of ground and flight tests as part of the U.S. Army’s Extended Range/Multi-Purpose [ER/MP] program. Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor of Hunter-2, conducted 14 flights that totaled more than 50 hours in mid-February during the army program’s Systems Capabilities Demonstration phase.

The Hunter-2 is based on the RQ-5A Hunter platform designed by Israel Aircraft Industries. IAI has contracted with Northrop Grumman and Aurora Flight Sciences to share Israeli UAV technology for projects in the United States.

“Our Hunter-2 demonstrator air vehicles successfully completed a series of prescribed ground and flight mission scenarios for the ER/MP program including auto landing and take-off capabilities under both day and night conditions,” Northrop Grumman ER/MP program director Bill McCall said. “We also demonstrated how easy it is to assemble, disassemble and perform maintenance tasks on the air vehicle, which will simplify logistic support for the Hunter-2 system.”

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