Ababil Iranian UAV

Ababil Iranian UAV

Ababil (Swallow) Iranian UAV was developed by HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company / IAMI) in 1986 during the war with Iraq. Ababil Iranian UAV were used operationally in 1997 to shadow US Navy operations in the gulf. Other reports suggested Iran's use of UAVs to monitor events in Afghanistan in the 1990s during the civil war. Iran has developed a number of variants, including the tactical Ababil-5 for medium-range reconnaissance and surveillance, the Ababil-T for short/medium-range attack, and also the Ababil-B and -S.

Ababil Iranian UAV

The Ababil Iranian UAV is ground or sea-launched using either pneumatic or rocket boosters and can be recovered by parachute or landing skids. An Ababil III variant was reportly shot down by a US F-16 in Iraq in February 2009. The Ababil UAV has a canard configuration. Due to this fact the risk of stall and crash was been reduced by 30%. Accurate aerodynamic design gave it a good stability characteristics with high speed and maneuverability.

Ababil Iranian UAV

It has a maximum operational radius of 150 km (93 mi) and a maximum ceiling of 14,000 ft (4,268 m). It has the ability to travel at a maximum speed of 300 km/h and is capable of carrying a 45 kg (88 lb.) payload. It has a surveillance configuration, carrying a camera and digital communications equipment, but also an attack configuration, carrying a high-explosive warhead that would be delivered by the UAV crashing onto a target.

Ababil Iranian UAV

Ababil Iranian UAV is equipped with the Shahid Noroozi guidance and control system designed and manufactured in Iran. It is composed of two aerial and ground section. The aircraft control system is provided with an autopilot system that transfers flight information data to the ground station via a datalink. The system is able to launch the aircraft, perform different maneuvers, fly to 30 km range, loiter and simulate air attacks and finally recover the aircraft at a given point. The range could be increased up to 120 km simply by increasing the output power of the communication system.

The Ababil Iranian UAV has a CCD TV camera and IR Charge (Flare) systems. Also carried is a Miss Distance Indicator (MDI), a system that works based on the acoustic measurment. The distance of the fired bullets from the aircraft geometric center and bullet motion path can be measured by the system. This information is displayed in ground station, providing the training officer with accurate information to correct the targeting operation until an appropriate level of accuracy is reached.

Specifications:

• Type: Reconnaissance
• Used by: Iran
• Weight: 83 kg (182 lb.)
• Length: 2.9 m (9.5 feet)
• Warhead: 1 possible 45 kg (88 lb.)
• range: 240 km (150 mi)
• Speed: 300 km/h