The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) achieved a milestone altitude of 40,000 ft in late August. The Heron, known as Eitan (Steadfast) in Israeli Air Force (IAF) service, is still under development by IAI and will, it is hoped, be able to attain an operating altitude of 50,000 ft where it will be clear of commercial traffic. "The Eitan climbed to the 40,000 ft altitude in less than an hour and maintained it for 30 minutes," an industry source told Jane's. "Unlike UAVs powered by a cylinder engine that consumes large amounts of fuel to maintain this altitude, the Eitan's [Pratt & Whitney Canada] PT6A-671,200 hp turboprop engine demonstrated 250 lb/h fuel consumption during the flight. It is about a third of the Eitan's fuel consumption while in neutral gear on the ground."
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