The Israel Aerospace Industries Panther is a

tilt-rotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a tran ...

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

(UAV) produced by

Israel Aircraft 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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The Panther employs a tilt-rotor propulsion system patented by IAI and designed for tactical use, allowing runway-free takeoffs and landings on unprepared locations. It features three "ultra-quiet" electric motors, two of which are tilt-rotor and one providing additional lift for hovering, takeoff and landing. An automatic flight-control system controls the transition between the rotors' various positions. Weighing roughly the Panther has an operational radius of over and can loiter for approximately six hours at an altitude of . Its payload is IAI's Mini-POP electro-optical/infrared sensor, a stabilised camera with a

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...

, pointer or

laser designator A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser-guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, AGM-114 Hellfire, o ...

. The Panther is controlled from a two-man control station, one to control the aircraft and oversee tactical missions, and the other to act as the station manager. The two use identical consoles, while takeoff and landings are handled automatically. A smaller version of the Panther, the Mini-Panther, is also available. Weighing and capable of loitering for about two hours, it is controlled from a command and control center carried in backpacks by two operators. The Panther was expected to be operational in 2011. The Panther was unveiled on October 5, 2010, at the Israeli land forces conference at

Latrun Latrun ( he, לטרון, ''Latrun''; ar, اللطرون, ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers ...

and will be on display at the

Association of the US Army The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the professional association of the United States Army. Founded in 1950, it has 121 chapters worldwide. Membership is open to everyone, not ju ...

’s (AUSA) 2010 Annual Meeting and Exposition in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. IAI revealed that the Panther is being evaluated by foreign special forces. In October 2015, IAI unveiled a Panther version with a hybrid propulsion system called the Front Engine Panther (FE-Panther). The aircraft integrates an electric and

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

, increasing weight only to while increasing endurance by 33 percent with the same payload; the tilting electric motors are optimal for vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering, while the combustion engine would be employed for cruising. IAI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Korean company Hankuk Carbon to offer the FE-Panther to fulfill the country's requirements for a VTOL UAS that can operate independently of runways in Korea's mountainous terrain.

References

{{IAI aircraft

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in So ...

Tiltrotor aircraft

See also

References