Israeli Air Force’s first operational UAV mission 44 years ago

The first Israeli Air Force operational unmanned aerial vehicle mission took place 44 years ago on Sept. 22, 1971.

Photo: Israeli Air Force

A Ryan Firebee that arrived in the country a few weeks earlier was tasked with photographing Egyptian surface-to-air missile batteries near the Suez canal after a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser by a missile on Sept. 17, 1971.

Source: Israeli Air Force’s first operational UAV mission 44 years ago