Pakistan Army Spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry mentioned the Harop drones in his press conference. The Harop drone is an ammunition system developed by the MBT Missile Division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
According to information available on the IAI website, it is designed to deliver ammunition to the battlefield and attack on the operator’s orders. Harop is particularly known for its ability to target the air defenses and other critical targets of the opposing side, combining the characteristics of a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and a missile, and is an ‘air weapon’ capable of flying on its own.
The drone can operate completely autonomously, or it can be operated manually in ‘human in the loop’ mode. if it fails to hit a target, it can return to base and land itself.
The Haroop, with its folding wings, can be launched from a canister mounted on a truck or ship, and can fly in the air.
Dr. Fahad Irfan Siddiqui, associate professor at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, explained that the Haroop is a military-grade technology drone, used for multiple purposes, including data collection and payload-installation attacks.
He said that agricultural and civil survey drones are equipped with jammers, which block UHF frequencies and disconnect from their base stations, but military-grade drones are operated via satellites, their radio frequencies are difficult to block, a highly advanced military technology can be intercepted via satellites (however, this is debatable).
Dr. Fahad Irfan highlighted that the drones we were hearing about in the headlines seemed to be quadcopters, which were difficult to track, but they were not deadly.
According to international law, any drone weighing more than 250 grams requires a license from the relevant country’s civil aviation authority. Drones weighing less are generally considered toy drones, and are often used for recreational purposes such as photography, and do not usually require a license.
Drones weighing more than 250 grams are subject to strict rules, and are prohibited from flying within a 5-kilometer radius of sensitive military installations, airports and certain government buildings. These areas have been designated as no-fly zones. In addition, the same principle of a 5-kilometer buffer zone also applies near international borders.
According to TRT Global, India has imported $2.9 billion worth of military hardware from Israel over the past decade, including radars, surveillance and combat drones and missiles. Earlier, in 2016 and 2020, Azerbaijan used the Herop extensively in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict against Armenia.
The attack drone reportedly targeted a bus full of soldiers, killing half a dozen of them and destroying the bus. In recent years, the drone has become an export success, with India and Azerbaijan purchasing the system.
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