Australia to Deploy Skylark Uavs for Iraq Operations

Australia to deploy Skylark UAVs for Iraq operations

Ian Bostock JDW Correspondent
Sydney

Australia's Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG) will soon deploy for the first time unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support its operations in southern Iraq.

Four Skylark mini-UAVs are to be allocated to the second rotation of the AMTG in the coming weeks. A further two will remain in Australia for training and pre-deployment preparation purposes.

According to a 3 November statement by Minister for Defence Robert Hill, the Skylarks will be used for reconnaissance and surveillance missions, providing information about terrain and ground activities.

The use of the Skylarks will, said Hill, improve the situational awareness of patrols and response elements and hence their ability to counter potential threats in the AMTG's area of operations.

Procured via a rapid acquisition for an undisclosed sum, the Skylark mini-UAVs are being supplied by Israel's Elbit Systems, which developed the aircraft jointly with its subsidiary Silver Arrow. The system is aimed at the market for man-packed tactical mini-UAVs able to undertake close-range surveillance and reconnaissance of areas of interest beyond hills and other obstacles that block line-of-sight observation.

Already in use with several armies in Europe, the Israeli Ministry of Defence selected Skylark in 2004 for initial procurement ahead of other similar mini-UAVs following a competitive fly-off evaluation.

The Skylark is capable of autonomous flight and uses a day-capable colour closed-circuit diode camera and forward-looking infra-red sensor to relay vision back to a portable command-and-control tactical computer station.

Weighing 5.5 kg at take-off, the Skylark has a mission radius of 5-10 km and a speed of 20-40 kts. It can stay on station for up to two hours.

The Skylark can be launched by hand, by air when carried under larger manned or unmanned aircraft or ground-launched on rails.

Israel selects Elbit Skylark drone (jdw.janes.com, 05/02/04)

/ Already in service with Israeli infantry units and some European forces, the Skylark mini-UAV is to be deployed with Australian forces in Iraq
(Source: Elbit)

JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - NOVEMBER 09, 2005