Export limitations let Heron Rise Above Predator on World Market

Warplanes: Heron Rises Above Predator

US GA-ASI Predator

Israeli IAI Heron

August 2, 2014:  While the American [GA-ASI] Predator UAV gets most of the publicity, the  similar Israeli [IAI] Heron also first flew twenty years  ago and nearly equals Predator production (360). Moreover Heron has been exported to more  foreign countries for a wider range of uses (especially maritime  patrol). Heron is the primary heavy UAV for the Israeli military, which  makes sense as it was Israel, not the United States that pioneered UAVs  of this type. 

August 1994
The first Predator® unmanned aerial vehicle
is flown at GA's flight test facility.

Abraham Karem’s 200-pound, long-endurance
UAV named Albatross so impressed DARPA
that it put together funding with the Navy
and ordered a more advanced version that
led directly to the Predator.
(Chad Slattery)

It was the Israeli successes in UAV technology that motivated Neal and Linden Blue, owners of an American firm (General Atomics) to acquire the assets of Leading Systems out of bankruptcy in 1990 and with it the Abe Karem (former IAI UAV designer) developed Gnat-750 and  create the MQ-1 Predator. 






Israel continues to produce a lot of Herons while Predator production has sharply declined as orders from the CIA and U.S. Air Force disappear. Part of the reason for continued production of Heron is the development of new variants. 

RQ-1 Predator XP Concept

UAE Tie-Up Introduces the RQ-1 Predator XP

GA-ASI has developed some export capability with the RQ-1 Predator XP, but is not allowed to export its best technology.