IAI presents new Panther UAV

The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board.

311_Panther UAV (photo credit: Courtesy of IAI)
311_Panther UAV
(photo credit: Courtesy of IAI)
Israel Aerospace Industries is set to unveil a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during a conference in Latrun on Tuesday.
The Panther UAV “combines the flight capabilities of an airplane with helicopter- like hovering, a tilt-rotor propeller, and a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system, which enable a runway-free takeoff and landing on an unprepared area,” IAI said in a press release on Monday.
The Panther will go on display at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) 2010 annual meeting and exposition in Washington, to be held October 25-27.
Itzhak Nissan, president and CEO of IAI, said, “The Panther’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, along with its effective use of changing flight dynamics, make it a unique and invaluable asset on the tactical battlefield for the Israel Defense Forces and for foreign customers. We consider the innovative technology used in this system to be ground-breaking.”
The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board.