US military considering Israeli suicide drones: Report
Israeli and American weapons manufacturers have teamed up to adapt an Israeli-made “suicide drone” to US military requirements, a new report says.
UVision’s Hero-30 loitering munition is undergoing some changes at the hands of Raytheon, one of the Pentagon’s main contractors, to make it ready for future use by American infantry forces, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
“The adapted system will meet the US Army’s requirement for Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS),” the US military giant said in a statement.
LMAMS is part of a US military plan to make weapons similar to Hero-30, a small drone that is accessible to all infantry units.
With a total weight of around 3 kilograms, the drone is designed for individual use and each soldier can carry up to three Hero-30s with a half kilogram warhead, the Israeli makers claim.
The weapon is launched from a canister and can reportedly fly for up to 30 minutes before attacking its target.
The weapon’s possible adoption by the US military marks a new milestone in America’s drone program which began after Washington purchased more Israeli Pioneer and Hunter drones in the 80s and 90s and used them as the basis for American-made platforms.
“The systems they [Americans] use today still have Israeli DNA,” said Yair Dubester, UVision’s director, adding that Israelis had a hand in developing the infamous US Predator drone.
Drones are only one of the areas of cooperation between the US and the Israeli regime.
According to former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the two close allies “are cooperating closely in areas such as missile defense technology, the Joint Strike Fighter, and in training exercises such as Juniper Stallion.”
The long-time military cooperation is made possible by Washington’s annual military aid to Tel Aviv which has amounted to $124.3 billion since it began in 1962, according to a recent congressional report.
Washington has been providing the Israeli regime with an annual $3.1 billion military aid package since a 2007 agreement with the George W. Bush administration.
However, Israel has been pushing for $4 billion to $4.5 billion in aid as part of a new agreement that will go into effect from 2018.
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