IAI Heron 1
First-generation multi-role MALE UAV: 52 hours endurance and satellite control, one of the world's most widely operated surveillance drones.
IAI Heron 1
First-generation multi-role MALE UAV: 52 hours endurance and satellite control, one of the world's most widely operated surveillance drones.
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- IAI Heron 1
- Alias
- Shoval / Machatz-1
- Manufacturer
- Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
- Country
- Israel
- Year
- 1994
- Category
- ISR (Reconnaissance)
- Class
- MALE (Medium-altitude / long-endurance)
- Status
- In service
Performance
- Range
- 350 km
- Endurance
- 52 h
- Top speed
- 207 km/h
- Service ceiling
- 10,500 m
- Propulsion
- Rotax 914 turbo, 115 hp, elica spintore
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 1270 kg
- Payload
- 250 kg
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- EO/IR multispettrale, SAR/GMTI, SIGINT/COMINT, marittimo opzionale
- Datalink / control
- LOS digitale + SATCOM (BLOS)
- Launch
- Pista (decollo autonomo)
- Recovery
- Pista (atterraggio autonomo)
Combat use
- ▸2006 Lebanon War
- ▸Gaza operations (2008-present)
- ▸ISAF Afghanistan
- ▸Operations against Iran (alleged)
- ▸Operation Cast Lead, Gaza (2008-2009)
- ▸Operation Pillar of Defense, Gaza (2012)
- ▸Operation Protective Edge, Gaza (2014)
- ▸ISAF Afghanistan (Bundeswehr, French ALAT, Australian ADF)
- ▸Operation Swords of Iron, Gaza (2023-2024)
Tags
Main operators
History
Derived from Scout and Searcher experience, the Shoval entered service with the IDF in the mid-2000s and quickly replaced earlier tactical UAVs for long-range missions.
Exported to more than 20 countries, it has been operated in Afghanistan by Germany, France, Canada and Australia, and across multiple Israeli theaters (Lebanon 2006, Gaza 2008-present).
The Heron Shoval program ran for more than a decade (1994-2005) and consumed over USD 700 million, making it at the time the most expensive UAV program in Israeli history.
The drone has since been certified to fly in civil airspace in several NATO countries, becoming a benchmark for maritime surveillance, anti-migration and wildfire missions in the Mediterranean and Australia.
During Operation Cast Lead (Gaza 2008-2009) and Operation Protective Edge (2014), IDF Heron 1s provided continuous 24/7 ISR coverage over the entire Strip, demonstrating for the first time the ability to track individual targets in real time inside a dense urban environment.