Israeli co. urges use of UAVs

According to a recent report on the FlightGlobal.com news site, Israel Aerospace Industries is encouraging the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and systems to better enable the Israeli Defense Force to maintain control over certain geographic areas.

The company's Panther tilt-rotor UAV uses an automatic flight control system to manage the transition between phases of flight, the report notes. Powered by three ultra-quiet electrical motors, the Panther weighs just 145 lbs. and can fly for 6 hours. A smaller design weighs about 26.4 pounds and can maintain flight for up to 2 hours.