IAI Partners with Palladyne AI to Produce Harpy Loitering Munitions in the U.S.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with U.S.-based company Palladyne AI, under which the American firm will manufacture the Harpy, Harop, and Mini-Harpy loitering munitions in the United States for the U.S. market. The announcement was made jointly by the two companies, with the first objective being participation in a U.S. Army competition for Long Range Precision Munitions (LRPM), which is expected to advance as early as this fall.

According to a report by Breaking Defense, Palladyne will adapt the systems to U.S. requirements and integrate its SwarmOS artificial intelligence platform, designed to enable autonomous swarm operations and information sharing among multiple platforms.

The U.S. Army program seeks a precision-strike capability with a range exceeding 100 kilometers, capable of engaging integrated air defense systems, particularly radars and surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. Program documents indicate that a prototype contract valued between $100 million and $200 million is expected to be awarded in October 2026.

The Harpy and Harop family is considered one of the most mature and combat-proven loitering munition systems in service. Originally developed in the 1980s, the platforms have undergone numerous upgrades and have been operationally deployed in multiple theaters. Unlike the small drones widely seen on the battlefield in Ukraine, these are larger platforms capable of carrying advanced sensor suites, a warhead weighing more than 30 pounds, and remaining airborne for up to nine hours.

Harpy’s primary advantage lies in its ability to operate as an anti-radiation weapon. The system detects enemy radar emissions, even when radars are activated only briefly, and locks onto the source of the radiation for attack. This capability is specifically designed to counter modern air defense tactics, in which radar systems are switched on only intermittently to reduce their vulnerability to detection.

The Harop variant is designed for a broader range of targets and incorporates multiple sensor types, enabling the detection and engagement of time-sensitive targets in real time.

According to Palladyne AI CEO Ben Wolff, the SwarmOS system can be integrated into existing platforms through software modifications alone, without requiring hardware changes. Once installed, the loitering munitions will be able to share information with one another as well as with aircraft, ground vehicles, and command-and-control nodes that support compatible communications standards.

Wolff said the company intends to compete for several additional U.S. Department of Defense procurement programs over the coming year, including some that have not yet been formally released as competitions. He emphasized that the Harpy family is not intended to compete in the category of low-cost, expendable drones such as Iran’s Shahed drone. Instead, it offers a sophisticated, high-capability system designed for demanding suppression and destruction of enemy air defense (SEAD/DEAD) missions.