Eitan UAV returns to the skies 8 months after crash

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle makes successful test flight, signaling the drone's return to combat deployment in the IDF.

By BEN HARTMAN
Eitan UAV 370 (photo credit: Courtesy IDF Spokesman’s Office)
Eitan UAV 370
(photo credit: Courtesy IDF Spokesman’s Office)
Eight months after it was grounded following a crash, an "Eitan" UAV took of for a successful test flight Thursday, signaling the drone’s return to combat deployment, the IDF spokesperson’s office said Thursday.
Over the past eight months the IDF has carried out a battery of tests to determine what caused the January 29th crash outside Gedera, and found a technical malfunction in the adhesives on the aircraft’s wings.
The five-ton Eitan has an 86 foot wingspan and is 43 feet long. The aircraft has a range of 4,600 miles and can fly over 45,000 feet, well above commercial aircraft.
The IDF added Thursday that the state of the art UAV is set to go through a number of advancements in the coming years.