Palestinians call drones a deadly weapon

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-04 11:16

"It looks like it makes small circles in the sky, but before it's about to fire a missile, it slows down," the militant said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared being identified by Israel. "It's not like any other plane. You don't see the missile leaving, it's very quiet."

Damian Kemp, an aviation desk editor at Jane's Defence Weekly, said Israel is probably the first country in the world to use unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, for both surveillance and to fire missiles. Israel is a world leader in the field and "capable of doing everything from the very small to the very large," he said.

He said drones were likely more accurate, cost-effective and safer than manned F-16 fighter jets and Apache helicopters.

"The key thing in a UAV is it does missions that are dull, dirty and dangerous," Kemp said. "They can be up there for a long time and in areas where you don't need to put a pilot at risk."

Jaber Wishah, deputy director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, said his group has received reports about drones firing missiles for more than three years.

"The kind of missile -- from the shrapnel we've gathered -- appears to be small," Wishah said. "But do we have documentation, photographs of a drone? We don't."

Israel has long been considered the world leader in drone technology and proudly exhibits its products at international air shows. But it maintains its drones are for surveillance purposes, and refuses to confirm using them in airstrikes.

Doron Suslik, a top official at the Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactures drones, said the company has customers from all over the world, including Switzerland, France and India, with annual sales of US$500 million to US$600 million.

He refused to divulge the drone's military capabilities, citing his clients' desire for confidentiality. Government and army officials also refused to comment on the drone's firing capabilities.

Israel has used unmanned aircraft since the early 1970s, and its fleet has steadily increased. Air force officials say drones have become such an integral part of Israel's air power that their flight hours now outnumber those of manned fighter planes.

Last March, Israel unveiled its largest unmanned aircraft to date at a seaside air force base in central Israel. The Heron, with a 54-foot wingspan, can fly for up to 30 hours at a speed of 140 mph and a height of 30,000 feet.

Kemp of Jane's Defence Weekly, said a newer version, the Heron TP, was unveiled in June in Paris. With a wingspan of 85 feet, it can fly for as long as 36 hours and carry a maximum payload of 2,200 pounds.

The US Army has used drones such as the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper for airstrikes against al-Qaida commanders and other militants in Afghanistan and Iraq. US drones have also reportedly killed militants in Pakistan and Yemen.

US-made Predators are a common sight in the skies of Baghdad, equipped with cameras, sensors and radar that can capture video and still images.

The US Air Force operates a fleet of roughly 100 Predators. The CIA also uses the aircraft and was closely involved in its development. It provides almost real-time, full-motion video and is remotely piloted -- Air Force pilots control and operate the aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas.

The Reaper is four times heavier than the Predator, can fly twice as fast and twice as high.

In January, a missile fired from a Predator killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a top al-Qaida commander, in Pakistan's lawless tribal region of north Waziristan. Coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have launched a number of missile strikes from drones against Taliban and al-Qaida militants hiding on the Pakistani side of the border, but the US military has never confirmed them.

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