Israeli drones said operating over Iraq and Afghanistan

Ha'aretz - March 13, 2009
Israeli-manufactured unmanned aerial vehicles have been operating in the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan in the service of the United States-led coalition for the last three years.

According to reports in foreign media, the unpiloted aircrafts are products of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Over Iraq, the U.S. Army has been operating Hunter model UAVs that were manufactured in IAI's Mississippi-based subsidiary Stark Aerospace. The top contractor for the project is the American defense company Northrop Grumman...

Within the last year, the Canadian air force has also operated Israeli-made Heron UAVs over Afghanistan to assist Canada's ground forces in combat against the Taliban.

Though the UAVs were manufactured in Israel, there are no identifying marks on the aircraft to indicate the country of origin.

[Israel is the only recipient of US military aid that is permitted to use a large portion of it to fund their own, competing weapons industry -- an activity that removes jobs and income from the US economy]. Full story