At dawn on 7 October 2023 Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by the Israel Air Force (IAF) were among the first to take to the skies in an attempt to stop the surprise attack perpetrated by Hamas on Israel.
At that time, 40 km to the north of the Gaza Strip, the first UAV squadron was scrambled following rocket attack alerts and directed its Heron UAVs toward Gaza. Dashing south, the first Heron arrived at 07:15 and immediately joined the fight to block the massive flow of armed terrorists across the breached border barrier.
With the divisional command centre on the ground overwhelmed by the attack, Heron operators employed their sensors and communications to help regain situational awareness at higher command levels. Using the UAVs’ onboard sensors, they collected information as quickly as possible, creating a situational picture to help the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Command better understand the situation and respond effectively. The next day, the squadron turned to the north to conduct surveillance sorties against Hezbollah units in Lebanon that had struck IDF targets near Mount Hermon. They later expanded activity to additional areas in Lebanon, Samaria, Judea, and throughout the region, increasing their operational intensity.
This was achieved by operating a force comprising a mix of tactical and heavier medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs equipped with various sensors, enabling the IAF to conduct a variety of missions. The IAF operates the Heron UAV family with two squadrons, committed to strategic, tactical, and maritime surveillance missions over land and sea. The Heron (referred to by the IAF as ‘Shoval’) and Heron TP (designated ‘Eitan’) carry payloads for surveillance and intelligence-gathering and perform strategic, operational, and tactical missions day and night, including in cloudy and stormy weather.
With significantly long endurance capabilities, the Heron and Heron TP platforms currently perform surveillance sorties 24/7, each spanning several days. Every few hours, operators are replaced with fresh teams, thus maintaining a high degree of alertness without the need for the UAV to leave the target area; regulars and reservists, men and women, share the burden. Many of the squadron reservists are Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) employees involved with the design, development, manufacture, and operation of the Heron family. The UAV platform and its unified operator station were designed and built with extended missions in mind, while the workstations provide maximum efficiency and ease of use, using the latest in user interfaces to help reduce operator workload and maximise mission focus.
The steadfast stance of the IAF’s Herons has demonstrated the agility and operational capability of the Heron family, which has been proven in decades of combat operations, with over 50 operational Heron users clocking up more than 2.1 million operational flight hours.
The current ‘Iron Swords’ War has now been added to the impressive legacy of IAI’s Heron UAV family, which continues to safeguard Israel, deliver intelligence from deep inside hostile areas, and reveal the enemy anywhere and at any time.
