IAI RQ-5 Hunter

The IAI RQ-5 Hunter is an unmanned aerial vehicle based on the Hunter developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and originally intended as the United States Army short range UAV system for division and corps commanders. It took off and landed on runways using arresting gear and carried a gimbaled electro-optical and infrared sensor whose video was relayed in real time through a second airborne Hunter, a relay mode that was unique to the type. Acquisition and training began in 1994, production was cancelled in 1996 over programme management concerns and resumed after the aircraft proved itself over Kosovo in 1999. The Hunter later served in Iraq and Afghanistan, flew its final Army flight in December 2015, and was also bought by Belgium and the Philippines. An armed version carrying the Viper Strike weapon is designated MQ-5A or MQ-5B.