Israel begins test flights of ‘cutting-edge’ spy aircraft

Jerusalem, August 28

Israel’s military has started test-flying Oron, a Gulfstream G550-based reconnaissance aircraft equipped with intelligence systems. 

The Defence Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that after integrating the intelligence systems into “the cutting-edge” Oron aircraft, the military has started test flights as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

The aircraft will provide the Israeli military with “unprecedented intelligence capabilities across expansive terrain, enabling real-time monitoring of ground movements under diverse weather and visibility conditions,” the Ministry added.

Head of the Defence Ministry’s Missionised Aircraft Branch, identified in the press statement only by his first initial, Y, said that the “Oron” is “a joint multi-domain, multi-sensor solution which will provide the Israel Defense Forces with game-changing capabilities to counter threats far and near”.

He said its unique capabilities include the ability to accurately track multiple targets across a wide area of coverage, “in all weather and visibility conditions, with high precision over great distances and in real-time, enabling a decisive and timely response to all threats.”

Oron was delivered in 2021 by US-based airframer Gulfstream Aerospace to the Israeli Air Force as a special-missions G550 variant for surveillance operations.