Australian Herons fly in civil airspace

20th July 2015 - 06:00 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Rockhampton

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The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flew its pair of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron UAVs in civil airspace from a civil airport for the first time during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015.

The Herons flew from Rockhampton Airport throughout the course of the bilateral Talisman Sabre exercise.

Wg Cdr Matt Bowers, commanding officer of No 5 Flight, told Shephard, ‘It’s the first time for us to operate a military UAV from a civilian airport in civilian airspace.’

He noted that his unit has previously only flown Herons in-country in restricted military airspace at Woomera in South Australia.

He ...

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