The IAI Harop is a
loitering munition
A loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone[Loitering Muniti ...](_blank)
developed by the MBT division of
Israel Aerospace Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...
. Loitering munitions are designed to loiter above the battlefield and attack targets by crashing into them and exploding.
Overview
The IAI Harop has a loiter (flying) time of 6 hours and a range of 1,000 km both ways. It is a larger version of the
IAI Harpy
The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimised for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) role. It carries a high explosive warhead. The Harpy ha ...
and is launched from ground or sea-based canisters, but can be adapted for air launch.
The Harop uses a man-in-the-loop mode, being controlled by a remote operator.
["India eyes IAI's Harop attack UAV"] The Harop operator can select static or moving targets detected by the aircraft's electro-optical sensor.
IAI developed a smaller version of the Harop for smaller applications called Mini-Harop or Green Dragon. The smaller Harop is one-fifth the size and has a lighter warhead. It has a shorter endurance of 2–3 hours and is used tactically against time-critical targets or ones that hide and re-appear.
History
Turkey may have been the launch customer for the Harop in 2005.
[Sweetman 2009] In October 2005,
MBDA
MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.[MBDA Inc. US Division Cor ...](_blank)
submitted the Harop (under the name "White Hawk") to the United Kingdom's
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
for consideration as the system for the Ministry's Loitering Munition Capability Demonstration (LMCD) program, otherwise known as "
Fire Shadow
Fire Shadow is a Loitering Munition, loitering munition designed by MBDA for the British Army. It is designed to loiter above the battlefield for up to 6 hours before attacking stationary or mobile targets. The cost of Phase 1 of the programme, in ...
".
["Israel Unveils Loitering Anti-Missile Drone"]["Rivals unveil concepts for loitering munition demo"] The Harop was selected as one of the finalists but was rejected when the MoD decided that the contract should go to a British team.
In August 2007, the government of India was negotiating to purchase eight to ten Harop systems.
In September 2009, the
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
announced that it will be inducting the Harop systems purchased for US$100 million "for up to 10 drones".
The Harop was publicly unveiled to the world for the first time in India, in the lead-up to the
Aero India
Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence.
Organisers
The Defence Ministry of India, Indi ...
2009 show.
In February 2019, the Indian Air Force decided to add another 54 Harop drones to its fleet of around 110 of these drones, which they had renamed P-4.
Combat history
It was first used in combat by Azerbaijan in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaij ...
in April 2016.
IAI Harop drones operated by Azerbaijan were used to destroy buses of Armenian soldiers being transported to the frontline. The loitering drones were also reportedly used to destroy an Armenian command post. In April 2018, IAI systems were observed in a film made by the
Azerbaijan Army
The Azerbaijani Land Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri Quru Qoşunları) are the land force component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been trying to create professional, well trained ...
, specifically the IAI Harop loitering munition system, resulting in criticism from the
Armenian government
The politics of Armenia take place in the framework of the parliamentary representative democratic republic of Armenia, whereby the President of Armenia is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Armenia the head of government, and of a mul ...
concerning the supply of Israeli arms to the Azerbaijan Army. The Israeli Defense Forces Harop was also credited for destroying a Syrian Air Defence
SA-22 Greyhound on 10 May 2018. It was also used by the Azerbaijan Air Force in the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...
. In 2020,
Hikmet Hajiyev
Hikmet Farhad oglu Hajiyev ( az, Hikmət Fərhad oğlu Hacıyev) is an Azerbaijani public figure who serves as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan. He also serves as the Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presi ...
, an advisor to Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.
The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
, praised the effectiveness of the Harop in the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...
.
Operators
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Specifications
See also
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IAI Harpy
The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimised for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) role. It carries a high explosive warhead. The Harpy ha ...
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SEAD
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UCAV
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...
References
External links
HAROP - Loitering Munition SystemIAI website. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
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New IDF UAV revealed (video)
{{IAI aircraft
Canard aircraft
Delta-wing aircraft
Harop
2000s Israeli military reconnaissance aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Harop
Wankel-engined aircraft
Loitering munition