On the recommendation of EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the Greek civilian aviation authority has for the first time issued a permit allowing IAI’s Heron 1 UAV to be flown in Greece’s airspace. The permit allows the system to be used in the operational activities of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, whose charter is to provide marine surveillance and coastal protection.
The UAV flights are carried out in Europe’s civil airspace according to civil flight procedures with no military intervention or control.
Moshe Levy, Executive VP&GM, Military Aircraft Group, commented, “IAI is extremely proud that our proprietary UAV is flying in Europe’s civil airspace. Together with our partners at Airbus, we are ready to provide Frontex with the best possible service to help them fulfill their every need. IAI’s Heron has already accumulated over 500,000 operational flying hours globally with countless successful missions. We look forward to seeing it succeed yet again.”
IAI’s Heron UAV has a rich operational record of serving Israeli, European, and many other customers worldwide. It is designed to perform prolonged strategic and tactical assignments, including those under extreme weather conditions, while simultaneously carrying many payloads (and sensors) and transmitting realtime information to the forces and decision-makers on the ground.
