HAI Pegasus

The Pegasus (full name is E1-79 ΠΗΓΑΣΟΣ) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), product of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI or EAB from the Greek initials). Its development started in 1979 in collaboration with "KETA" (Hellenic Air Force Research & Development Center) and its first flight was made in 1982. Main uses are surveillance and intelligence gathering; first generation ("Pegasus I") had a length of 2.1 m, wingspan 5 m, maximum speed 160 km/h, minimum speed 75 km/h, take-off load 130 kg and autonomy 3.5 hrs. After initial delays in the relevant program of the Greek Air Force, 10 units (including the ground station infrastructure) were produced (a number of them by KEA) to facilitate its performance optimization. By 2003 it was already operational, while in 2005 a redesigned upgrade was introduced ("Pegasus II") with advanced electronics, length 4.3 m, wingspan 6.2 m, take-off load 250 kg and autonomy 15 hrs. 4 units (each one including the aircraft and ground stations and equipment) are currently operational, with 12 more under construction by KEA.

Other similar projects by HAI include the TELAMON, a very advanced, jet-powered UAV, jointly developed with Northrop, based on the latter's "Chuckar III" UAV. It was introduced in 1986; it has a maximum speed of 924 km/h and an autonomy of 740 km. The project did not proceed, considered too expensive for the Greek Air Force requirements.