Warplanes: June 10, 2000

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The Pentagon is closely watching new Israeli long-range unmanned recon drone programs designated Predator and Heron. The US thought that the Israelis wanted these long-endurance drones to search for missile launchers, but the Israelis are planning to arm the aircraft with several smart anti-armor munitions similar to the US-produced BAT (Brilliant Anti-Tank) submunition. These could then be used to disrupt armored formations hundreds of miles from the battlefield by taking out key vehicles. The Israeli drone would include a laser to determine the range of the target.--Stephen V Cole