Turkey stymied by problems with Israeli Heron UAVs

[rock45]

Turkey stymied by problems with Israeli Heron UAVs
The difficulty in overcoming continuing problems with Israeli-made Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) being tested in Turkey is becoming a major concern for the Turkish air force, which is keen to acquire such technology for combating terrorism, a Turkish defense official has told Sunday's Zaman
Frustrated with long delays and a never-ending run of difficulties encountered with the Herons, Turkish defense officials have turned to rival suppliers, hoping that the air force will get more reliable models tested to endure difficult intelligence and reconnaissance missions over tough terrain, particularly in Turkey's mountainous Southeast. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) officials reject claims about the failures in UAVs delivered to Turkey and vow to correct any problems encountered during testing. Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, senior IAI officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The current performances that have been observed in Turkey fully match the current engine configuration. As agreed, the contractual requirements will be fully met with the improved engine, and the delivered UAVs will be upgraded to the improved engine configuration.”

Full article & link
http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=175515

 

[Lunatik]

TuAF use their UAVs mainly for anti-terrorism purposes in the high, complex and mountainous southeastern region, bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran. Average elevation is over 3,000 meters. Few UAVs demonstrate adequate flight endurance (not just max ceiling, but also payload weight, time in air, etc) at such demanding zones.

Heron is an "alright" platform that more or less did its job. Part of the problem was integrating Turkish sensors on it but what Turkey really needed was a higher, heavier UAV that can stay in the air longer.

 

[rock45]

Hi Lunatik

I don't know enough about the topic to really comment I'm sure the problem will be worked out. Reading the little on it that I did you might right about the "integrating Turkish sensors". The payload issue one assume Turkey knew what they buying but like most things in life there are usually three sides.