"UAVs are an Inseparable Part of the Fighting”
Operation Protective Edge proved, once again, that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
have become an inseparable part of the modern battlefield. Shaul Shahar,
General Manager of the Military Aircraft Group at IAI, about the substantial
contribution of the UAVs
IsraelDefense 11/9/2014
http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=3113

"UAVs are an Inseparable Part of the Fighting” "UAVs have become an
inseparable part of today’s battlefield, and are of the utmost importance,”
says Shaul Shahar, Corparate VP and General Manager of IAI's Military
Aircraft Group.

Operation Protective Edge, conducted in the summer of 2014, proved once
again that the use of UAVs has become dominant on the modern battlefield.
UAVs flew tens of thousands of flight hours during the operation, performing
intelligence gathering and other missions.

Shahar says that “UAVs and their operators are best qualified to perform the
preliminary intelligence work, which is a mandatory prerequisite in every
mission. UAVs play a major role in providing the preliminary intelligence
and in routing fighter aircraft and ground forces to the focal points of the
mission in both urban and open combat zones.

“The importance of the UAVs in accompanying the mission stems from their
ability to collect intelligence from the air in real time. These are
state-of-the-art operational systems capable of dominating expansive areas
for long periods of time and collecting highly-detailed intelligence on the
ground, including the whereabouts and movements of civilians. They perform
these activities using highly advanced payloads, capable of providing
optimal terrain dominance, including day and night surveillance payloads,
Radar payloads and Signals Intelligence (SigInt) payloads.”

According to Shahar, “The information provided by the UAVs is conveyed to
the operational field echelons and, at the same time, to the decision makers
at the main command centers. These capabilities, combined with the abilities
to disseminate the information in real time, position the UAVs as suppliers
of a broad picture that enables the recipients to deduce and understand the
future implications on the opposing force.

“UAVs cooperate closely with the ground forces and enable accurate guidance
of the ground forces so as to avoid harming civilians. The system is very
flexible in terms of its architecture and its ability to accommodate
payloads and applications, including advanced communication systems. The
scope of activity is enormous – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at different
flight levels and on a diversified range of missions. This command span has
a very long arm.

“From the operational point of view, any activity that incorporates UAVs
enables the user to gain experience, improve and introduce new systems and
new and advanced payloads for intelligence-gathering purposes, all in order
to enable optimal terrain dominance to the complete satisfaction of the
users. IAI offers an extensive range of dedicated UAVs. The systems have
demonstrated competence, reliability and a high degree of operational
flexibility and provide unique and unprecedented intelligence.”

Col. (res.) Shaul Shahar, who commanded the MUAV squadron of the IDF
Intelligence Directorate during his military service, explains that in most
of today’s complex conflicts, worldwide, civilian population is present and
the need to protect the uninvolved has become vital. “UAVs make a decisive
contribution, beginning at the stages prior to the actual battle, in
minimizing the damage to the civilian population, through the real-time
accompaniment of the entire course of the fighting, to the analysis of the
results of the various moves made on the battlefield. Without the UAVs’
involvement and accompaniment, there is no doubt that the chances of
collateral damage would have been much higher,” he explains.

IAI offers an extensive range of UAV models that have logged more than
1,200,000 operational flight hours worldwide. The UAV range developed and
manufactured by IAI includes the Heron, Heron-TP and Searcher, as well as
such tactical UAV/UAS models as the Panther, the Ghost, the Bird Eye Mini
UAS family and other models. “There is not a single continent around the
globe where UAVs by IAI are not active. Our UAVs are operated by about fifty
international clients,” concludes Shahar.