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Aviation / Aerospace

IAI Searcher

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) [ 1992 ]

The IAI Searcher UAV replaced both the IAI Scout and Tadiran Mastiff UAV types in Israeli Army service.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/22/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright Israel Aerospace Industries; All Rights Reserved.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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The Israelis realized the value of drones in warfare before most and developed a very mature industry to fulfill a bevy of running requirements. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has become a major contributor in the field and, beginning in 1992, added the "Searcher" - a reconnaissance-minded Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for scouting and surveillance sorties over friendly and enemy airspace. The type is a conventionally-powered system with a traditional design managing a payload of equipment. The series has spawned the original "Searcher 1" of 1992 which has since been followed by the "Searcher 2" of 1998. Searchers have been sold abroad to a select few allied powers in Asia.

Searcher 2 fields a payload capacity of 150lbs consisting of tracking systems, sensors and camera equipment. Its gross weight is 1,100lbs making it manageable by few personnel on the ground. The airframe maintains a running length of 19 feet, 2 inches with a wingspan measuring 28 feet. Height is listed at 4 feet. The overall design consists of a fuselage nacelle straddled by a pair of high-mounted straight wing assemblies at midships. Two thin tubular booms emanate from the trailing edge of the wings and connect at a horizontal assembly to which a pair of vertical fins are situated. The nose is well-sloped for aerodynamic efficiency. The drone is powered by a single Limbach L550 series engine of 47 horsepower driving a three-bladed propeller assembly fitting to the rear of the fuselage in a "pusher" configuration. Performance specifications include a top speed of 125 miles per hour, an operating service ceiling of 20,000 feet and a mission endurance time of eighteen hours. The undercarriage is fixed in position and consists of a single-wheeled nose leg and a pair of single-wheeled main legs.

The Searcher series is in use with the forces of Israel, India, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey. They have been seen in the standard light sky gray finish and a desert-minded camouflage scheme.
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October 2020 - Azerbaijan has been using its fleet of Searcher UAVs in its war against neighboring Armenia.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1992

Origin

Israel

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

200
UNITS

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) - Israel

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Azerbaijan; India; Israel; South Korea; Singapore; Thailand; Turkey

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Length

19.2 ft
(5.85 m)

Width/Span

28.0 ft
(8.54 m)

Height

4.1 ft
(1.25 m)

Empty Wgt

772 lb
(350 kg)

MTOW

1,102 lb
(500 kg)

Wgt Diff

+331 lb
(+150 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base IAI Searcher production variant)

Installed: 1 x Limbach L550 engine of 47 horsepower.

Max Speed

124 mph
(200 kph | 108 kts)

Ceiling

20,013 ft
(6,100 m | 4 mi)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base IAI Searcher production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None. Payload consists of optics and sensors for the ISR role.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Searcher - Base Series Designation.

Searcher Mk I - First Generation Model of 1992.

Searcher Mk II - Improved Second Generation Model of 1998.

Searcher Mk III - Updated Searcher UAV platform.

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