Israel Sells 12 Heron, Skylark Drones To Jordan To Fight IS

Israel has sold 12 advanced unmanned aerial vehicles of the Heron TP and Skylark types to Jordan.

The Jordanian Royal Air Force had requested for the drones to beef up counter terrorism campaign against the Islamic State (IS) and Levant.

The Heron TP drone is an assault vehicle. Its speed is 370 kph at an altitude of 7,400 km and it can stay aloft for 70 hours at a height of 14 km. The Heron is needed for air strikes against Islamist targets deep inside Iraq or Syria and also as an effective weapon for halting enemy forces advancing on Jordan’s borders through the deep crevasses of the eastern Syrian Deir E-Zour region or from Iraq’s Anbar Province to the east.

Skylark will gather intelligence for Jordan’s Special Forces in both arenas. Its cameras beam down a full picture in real time of an active battle field.

“Israeli and Jordanian officials decline to reveal details about the financial scope of the sale, how the new Israeli drones will enter service in Jordan and whether Israel has set up an operations center in the Royal Air Force for deploying them. Operating the Herons and Skylarks requires personnel especially trained in their use,” DebkaFile reported Monday.

Israeli air force fuel tankers were seen escorting Jordanian fighter jets across the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week to participate in military exercises in the western United States.

Israel has also given retired US-supplied Cobra combat helicopters to Jordan for border security in June.