IAI Harpy

Israel Aerospace Industries

Industry	Aerospace, defense
Headquarters	Israel
Products	Harpy loitering munition

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The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Specifically engineered to neutralize radar installations, it is tailored for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) mission. Equipped with a high explosive warhead, the Harpy has been exported to multiple nations, including South Korea, India, and China.

Design and development

During the late 1980s, the company Kentron transferred the designs of its ARD-10 loitering drone to IAI. Utilizing these blueprints, IAI developed the Harpy, which underwent its initial testing phase in 1989.

In 2004, the Harpy became central to U.S. efforts aimed at limiting arms exports and advanced military technology sales to China. Initially sold to China in 1994 for approximately US$55 million, the drones were sent back to Israel in 2004 under a contract for upgrades. Concerned that these loitering munitions could threaten Taiwanese and American forces if conflict arose with China, the United States insisted that Israel halt the upgrade process and cancel the contract. Israel maintained that the Harpy is a domestically designed system without any American-made components. As a result, in 2005, the drones were returned to China without enhancements. This episode strained U.S.-Israel relations, leading to Israel's temporary suspension from its Security Cooperative Participant role in the Joint Strike Fighter program. Nonetheless, on 6 November 2005, Israel announced its reinstatement into the program.

Operators

File:IAI Harpy Users.png

Map displaying current IAI Harpy operators highlighted in blue

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See also

• WB Electronics Warmate
• Shahed 131
• Raad 85 (UAV)
• NCSIST Chien Hsiang
• AeroVironment Switchblade

External links

• HARPY - Autonomous Weapon for All Weather. IAI website