Though the Israelis possessed excellent tactical reconnaissance UAVs, they realized there was a need for a lighter, short-ranged, easy-to-use UAV for local battlefield reconnaissance for commanders. The Eye-View is a basic platform for feeding still and video information to a commander in real time. It may be launched from a runway, roadway, or a truck-mounted catapult. These UAVs were also sold to several foreign countries, including South Africa, India, and several South American countries.
Like its larger relatives, the Eye-View has fixed landing gear and a pusher propeller, with a 25 horsepower piston engine. It has a unique arrangement, with a tail-boom mounted on the top rear of the fuselage that ends in an "inverted vee" tail. The Eye-View is also being promoted in civilian markets for forest-fire warning, and in this form is appropriately known as the "FireBird". |
