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Israel Sold Kamikaze UAVs to China - Upgraded Harops Next?

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The Israeli developed IAI Maritime Harap UAV in action - slamming itself into on water targets. This version has many uses: autonomous loitering anti-radar, remote controlled hits on warships, civilian ships, boats and against SEAL Delivery Vehicles. Israel sold an earlier version (the Harpy) to China.
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In response to Lee McCurtayne's January 1, 2019 comment

China is getting into undersea and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in a big way under the label Artificial Intelligence (AI).

China is becoming able to mass produce small-medium sized, highly programmed, then autonomous, UAVs - in future to saturate the Yellow, East China and South China Seas.

Even small (1+kg) - medium (50-1,000 kg) UAVs can be weaponised, like unmanned Kamikazes to slam themselves into ships and other targets. 




A current example is the Israeli developed IAI Harop (photo above) "loitering munition" with a 23kg warhead and a radius of acction of 6 hours, 1,000 km each way.

Harops have already been used in Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh conflict) in April 2016 against Armenian troop carrying buses. Also the Israeli Defence Force has used a Harop to destroy a Syrian Air Defence SA-22 Pantsir missile on 10th May 2018.
   
Harops have autonomous anti-radar guidance. So, when Israel (against US wishes) sold some to China (as happened with the earlier, smaller, IAI Harpy in 1994), one or more could be capable of slamming itself into a South Korean, Japanese, US, Taiwanese, Indian or Southeast Asian warship.

Harop's are superior to Harpy's in terms of the latest re-programmable electronics, being more stealthy and sea and land launchable from containers. China may be willing to offer Israel money Israel can't refuse for whole Harops or at least the design plans.

A country (eg. China) operating a Harpy or Harop could "false flag" its identity (perhaps "becoming" South Korean or Japanese) before crashing into a warship - thus creating a political crisis (known in Russia as a "Putin wedge") between democratic countries. 


See Submarine Matters, November 28, 2018 article where just 2 South Korean operators can control a whole swarm of UAVs/"Drones".

Happy New Year

Pete

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