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1980s

Scout (Israel)

Scout (Israel)
In 1978, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) built Scout, a piston-engined aircraft with a 13-foot wingspan made of fiberglass. Scout's fiberglass frame emitted an extremely low radar signature, which, coupled with the UAV's small size, made it almost impossible to shoot down. The inexpensive Scout UAV could transmit real-time, 360-degree surveillance data via a television camera in its central turret.

In 1982, during the Bekaa Valley conflict between Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, Israel famously used a fleet of Scouts to search out Syrian missile sites and entice the Syrians to activate their radars. These allowed Israeli bombers to swoop in and destroy all but two Syrian missile sites (17 in all), allowing them to fly unchallenged in the skies.

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