ISRAELI DEFENCE manufacturer TAAS and McDonnell Douglas (MDC) are to collaborate in developing a series of variants of the former's Delilah standoff decoy unmanned air vehicle.
The prime objective of the move will be to produce stand-off-weapon derivatives of the Delilah, according to one source. Neither company is willing to discuss potential derivatives under consideration, however.
The two firms have signed an agreement to explore "potential applications" for the Delilah. Under the agreement, MDC has the joint rights to produce and market the Delilah system and its variants.
The Delilah was developed originally by TAAS (formerly Israel Military Industries) to meet an Israeli air force requirement for a manoeuvring, loitering, decoy.
TAAS is also developing a variant to meet a Chinese air force requirement for a standoff cruise missile. Work is also being conducted on a loitering anti-radiation variant, called the Star-1. The agreement with MDC, is believed in part, to be connected with such a variant.
The Delilah is being evaluated by the US Air Force as part of the Department of Defense's foreign-comparative-testing programme.
Source: Flight International