IAI Harop (Harpy)

Expendable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) [ 2005 ]

The IAI Harop is a disposable half-UAV, half-missile drone system with inherent surveillance capabilities.

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

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Very few military-related fields are advancing as quickly as unmanned systems - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) typically referred in mass media as "drones". Dedicated attack forms have also emerged under the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) classification and now Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has showcased a disposable attack UCAV with inherent surveillance features as part of its general design - the IAI "Harop" ("Harpy").

The Harop is a part-UAV, part-missile development in which the entire aircraft becomes an attack weapon upon spotting a target of opportunity. It is, in essence, a hunting missile driven by a ground-based pilot representative. In this fashion, the Harop is a complete "hunter-killer" UCAV system that can loiter in a given area, survey enemy movements, and hunt for critical targets. Communications and data (including video) are relayed to the ground control operator in real time as in other UAV platforms. Swooping in, Harop then becomes its own strike weapon to which the operator lowers the aircraft into a suspected/indentified enemy target with a primary payload being a 51lb warhead to maximize damage. The Harop is designed with an abort feature that will quickly allow the aircraft to break its engagement diving envelope if need be and return to its scouting role in short order. It is also not restricted to over-land attacks of stationary targets for it can be equally unleashed on moving, ocean-going targets over-water.

Externally, the Harop appears as a sort of science fiction fighter aircraft. Its bulbous nose assembly houses the warhead as well as the optics set under the chin. Canard foreplanes are also featured along the nose section. The fuselage is blended into the wing structure with swept leading edges seen on the primary wing sections. Wing extensions are fitted outboard of the twin vertical tail gins and these appear to sport a near-forward-swept look. A single, conventional engine is seated at the extreme rear-center of the design driving a two-bladed engine in a "pusher" configuration. The aircraft is launched from a prepared container and extends its outboard wing sections upon launch.

Characteristics include a length of 8 feet, 2 inches and wingspan of 9 feet, 10 inches. Range is said to be in the 1,000 kilometer range or up to six hours of flight time, providing a good reach or loitering window for the operator.

To date, the Harop has been exported to a handful of Asian countries though a Ukrainian sale was abandoned due to political pressure from Russia during its war with its neighbor and former Soviet client state.

Azerbaijan used Israeli Harop attack drones to good effect in its "Four Day War" against Armenia in 2016.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) - Israel
Manufacturer(s)

Azerbaijan; China; India; Israel; Kazakhstan; South Korea; Turkey; Uzbekistan
Operators

2005
Service Year

Israel
National Origin

Active
Project Status

0
(UNMANNED)
Crew

125
Units

GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

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

8.2 ft
(2.50 meters)
Length

9.8 ft
(3.00 meters)
Width/Span

1 x Conventional engine driving a two-bladed propeller in a "pusher" configuration.
Propulsion

621 miles
(1,000 km | 540 nm)
Range

51lb Warhead Payload.

Harop (Harpy) - Base Series Designation

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images

1 / 2

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

2 / 2

Image from official Israel Aerospace Industries marketing material.

❮ ❯

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)