July 21, 2009: India is procuring 8-10 Israeli Harop (Harpy 2) Loitering Attack Drone. This purchase is part of a procurement program valued at a billion dollars. Developed from the earlier Harpy, the Harop improves on the original design by offering a longer nose, outer wing extensions and a canard foreplane.

Essentially resembling a small aircraft with a cranked delta wing and rear two bladed propeller, the Harop is a vehicle launched, UAV controlled by a remote operator and capable of flying more than 1,000 kilometers and loitering for hours with a 51 pound warhead.

Like the autonomous Harpy, the UAV is primarily geared toward the Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) role. It features two modes of guidance to the target. Homing in on radio emissions with its anti-radar homing system, or unlike the Harpy, have its operator select static or moving targets with the drones electro-optical (TV) sensor. Using the operator mode, targets can be hit regardless of whether they emit signals or not. This line of sight capability can be used at ranges up to 150 kilometers or longer using relays built into each weapon.

The Harop was submitted under the name “White Hawk” to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense back in 2005 for the possibility of meeting the Ministry’s requirement for a Loitering Attack Munition Demonstration program known as “Fire Shadow.” The Harop became a finalist but was rejected when the Ministry decided to award a British team the contract. Harop specifics are as follows: Length: 2.5 Meters(8 feet, 2 inches), Wingspan: 3.00 Meters(9 feet, 10 inches), Speed: 100 Knots(115 miles per hour). --Mike Perry