Elbit Expands its UAV Family With Another Skylark

Israeli defense company Elbit Systems (Stand N65) has introduced a new UAV to its range in the shape of the electric-powered Skylark 3, which is being aired in public for the first time in Singapore. The 88-lb (40-kg) vehicle is larger than previous members of the Skylark family, and is intended to provide battlefield surveillance at battalion, brigade and division level. The greater size provides for a longer endurance of up to 6 hours and a larger payload of up to 22 lb (10 kg). In turn, that translates to larger sensors offering a higher-definition intelligence product.

Skylark 3 launches pneumatically from a rail that would typically be mounted on a vehicle-towed trailer, and incorporates a cushioned system for vertical recovery. The system builds on experience with Elbit’s Skylark I-LEX and Hermes families, and shares a common ground station with the smaller Skylark vehicles. Among the advanced features of the system are the ability to swap control between ground control stations in-flight, and to conduct multi-vehicle missions.

Elbit is also showing its Hermes 900 at Singapore, complete with a representative belly radome for a maritime search radar. The company is promoting the air vehicle as an ideal maritime platform, equipped with a Finmeccanica-Selex ES Gabbiano T200 radar, D-Compass electro-optical sensor turret and ESM (electronic support measures) equipment. Hermes 900 is in service with Chile, Colombia, Israel, Mexico and Brazil, the latter having employed its aircraft for surveillance during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.