IAI Unveils Mini Harpy Loitering Munition

IAI Unveils Mini Harpy Loitering Munition

Credit: IAI

Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled a newly-developed loitering munition. The Mini Harpy combines the capabilities of IAI’s two flagship loitering munitions, the Harop and the Harpy, offering detection of broadcast radiation with electro-optical capabilities, the Company said in a release.

The Mini Harpy is a tactical system that can be launched from land, marine and helicopter-borne platforms. The system was designed to provide operators with maximum control, including abort and re-attack capabilities. Electrically powered, it can loiter quietly in ranges of up to 100 km for up to two hours. The Mini Harpy weighs 45 kg and can carry a shaped charge of approx. 8 kg.

Boaz Levy, Executive VP and General Manager of IAI Systems, Missiles & Space Group, said, “In an age of asymmetrical warfare and fast moving targets that ‘blink’ for a few seconds at a time, the use of loitering munitions provides strong capabilities for closing the fire loop. Rather than relying on precise reference points, the system we developed loiters in the air waiting for the target to appear and then attacks and destroys the hostile threat within seconds. The Mini Harpy is unique in its beam detection and optical capabilities, a combination of two of our loitering munition systems that sold thousands of units in Israel and abroad.”

The Mini Harpy will be displayed for the first time at the Aero India Exhibition in Bangalore, India, on February 20-24, 2019.