IAI teams up with US contractor for new light aircraft for Israel’s border defense

Israel is advancing the procurement of new light attack aircraft for border defense, with a memorandum of understanding signed last week between American and Israeli defense contractors for the development of the planes.

The Israeli Air Force has been planning, since at least late 2024, to establish several new squadrons that would operate light aircraft on Israel’s borders with the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, under the Israel Defense Force’s various regional divisions.

The squadrons would fly light planes equipped with machine guns and other munitions to thwart large-scale infiltration attacks, as well as conduct long-endurance surveillance missions, according to IAF officials.

The decision to establish the light aircraft squadrons came following lessons learned from Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.

The IAF’s probe of the October 7 attack found that fighter jets were ineffective at gathering intelligence of Hamas’s ground invasion in real time, and helicopters were exposed to anti-aircraft fire.

Last Wednesday, the American defense contractor L3Harris and Israel Aerospace Industries announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an Israeli configuration of L3Harris’s Sky Warden aircraft — also known as the Skyraider II — which was originally developed from the Air Tractor AT-802, used for agriculture and firefighting.

The Israeli configuration of the plane will be known as Blue Sky Warden, the companies said in a statement.

“The collaboration establishes an integrated team that will combine L3Harris’ low-cost, high-endurance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft with IAI’s proven systems,” the statement read.

The Blue Sky Warden will be equipped with an IAI computer to “host Israeli-specific software and special capabilities,” the companies said, adding that IAI would also “supply and integrate its mission equipment and lead flight tests and airworthiness campaigns” with Israel’s Defense Ministry and the IAF.

Boaz Levy, president and CEO of IAI, said the Israeli firm was “excited to collaborate on this important program with L3Harris, a long-standing and trusted partner.”

“By combining IAI’s cutting-edge systems and expertise in mission systems integration with L3Harris’ Sky Warden platform, we are delivering a tailored solution that meets the evolving needs of the Ministry of Defense and Israeli Air Force,” he said, according to the statement.

The standard version of the Sky Warden is also being produced by L3Harris for the US Special Operations Command.

The Air Tractor AT-802, the original version of the aircraft, is already in use in Israel by the Fire and Rescue Service’s Elad aerial firefighting squadron.