IAI Panther

The IAI Panther is a tilt-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle made by Israel Aircraft Industries in Israel for tactical use. It employs a tilt-rotor propulsion system patented by IAI that allows runway-free takeoffs and landings on unprepared locations, with three ultra-quiet electric motors, two of them tilt-rotor and one giving extra lift for hovering, takeoff and landing, and an automatic flight-control system managing the transition between rotor positions. Weighing roughly 65 kilograms, it has an operational radius of over 60 kilometres and can loiter for about six hours at 10,000 feet, carrying IAI's Mini-POP electro-optical and infrared sensor. A smaller 12 kilogram Mini-Panther exists, and in October 2015 IAI unveiled a hybrid Front Engine Panther that adds an internal combustion engine for cruising. The Panther was unveiled on 5 October 2010.