France. Ile-de-France Department. Paris. Eurosatory 2022. Visitors, sales persons and Heron drone’s video presentation on IAI exhibit stand. The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. The Heron navigates using an internal GPS navigation device, and either a pre-programmed flight profile (in which case the system is fully autonomous from takeoff to landing), manual override from a ground control station, or a combination of both. It can autonomously return to base and land in case of lost communication with the ground station. The system has fully automatic launch and recovery (ALR) and all-weather capabilities. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. IAI is completely state-owned by the government of Israel. IAI designs, develops, produces and maintains military drones. Eurosatory is the international reference for land and airland Defence and Security exhibition. 13.6.2022 © 2022 Didier Ruef