IAI Harop

The IAI Harop (or IAI Harpy 2) is an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition. This SEAD-optimised UCAV is designed to loiter the battlefield and attack targets by self-destructing into them.

Overview
The IAI Harop is a larger version of the IAI Harpy and is launched from ground- or sea-based canisters, but can be adapted for air-launch. Unlike the fully autonomous Harpy, however, the Harop is controlled in flight by a remote operator. The Harop features two guidance modes: it can either home in on radio emissions by itself with its anti-radar homing system, or the operator can select static or moving targets detected by the aircraft's electro-optical sensor. This latter mode allows the Harop to attack radars that are presently shut down and therefore not providing emissions for the aircraft to automatically home in on.

History
Turkey may have been the launch customer for the Harop in 2005. In October 2005, MBDA submitted the Harop (under the name "White Hawk") to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence for consideration as the system for the Ministry's Loitering Munition Capability Demonstration (LMCD) program, otherwise known as "Fire Shadow". The Harop was selected as one of the finalists, but was rejected when the MoD decided that the contract should go to a British team. In August 2007, the government of India was negotiating to purchase eight to ten Harop systems. In September 2009, the Indian Air Force announced that it will be inducting the 10 Harop systems purchased for US$100 Million. The Harop was publicly unveiled to the world for the first time in India, in the lead-up to the Aero India 2009 show.