Singapore inaugurates Heron UAV squadron

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has inaugurated the Israel Aircraft Industries Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle into its inventory in a ceremony held at Murai Camp on Wednesday. The RSAF's Heron 1s are operated by 119 Sqn and will replace the Searcher 2 UAV, which has been in service with the RSAF since 1994. With the Heron 1 now in service with the new squadron, it is unclear what will happen to 128 Sqn, which operated the Searcher 2.

Murai camp, adjacent to Tengah Airbase in Singapore's west, has traditionally been home for the RSAF's UAV operations.

Dassault offers French military leased Heron TP UAVs

Dassault is considering leasing Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP UAVs to meet the urgent operational needs of the French armed forces. IAI's new-generation Heron TP has not yet been exported, and any tie-up with Dassault would must be approved by Israel's defence ministry.

Canadians trained RAAF Heron crew

It has been reported in the Canadian press that Royal Canadian Air Force personnel trained their Australian counterparts on the finer points of operating the Heron UAV. The training was carried out on leased RCAF UAVs and took place in Alberta, Canada and on operational missions in Afghanistan.

Beast of Kandahar Is Back; Israel using Heron UAV to monitor arms smuggling

Ares has a blog on the RQ-170 UAV (i.e Beast of Kandahar) back in Afghanistan, and how Israel is using their long endurance Heron UAVs to monitor arms smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah.