It has only been a few years since the military’s drone technology has become a subject of public interest but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the U.S. Army has been using drones for over two decades now. IAI’s Hunter has the distinction of being the Army’s first ever drone, it has served the force faithfully for more than 20 years, and now it’s finally being retired to make way for newer and more technologically advanced drones.
The Hunter is a recon drone, it doesn’t fire any missiles or drop any bombs, it collects valuable intelligence and relays it back to the operators. It has proven to be very helpful, the first operational flights over the Balkans back in 1999 demonstrated the need for Hunter, and the drone went on to prove its worth in Iraq from 2003 onwards.
Despite its illustrious performance in the service of the United States Army it does suffer from the same limitations as all technology does, the years go by and newer more advanced technology comes up, eventually making it neccessary for older units to be replaced.
That’s precisely what’s happening with the Hunter. The Army is upgrading to the General Atomics Gray Eagle drone which can remain airborne for 25 hours instead of 12, has a 29,000 feet altitude ceiling as opposed to the Hunter’s 15,000 and features better and more advanced sensors.