'Round-The-Clock Capability When Time Is Of The Essence

As the relief effort for tsunami victims in South Asia continues to ramp up, the search for survivors in the 11 countries hardest hit is winding down. But at its height, that effort was reportedly aided in great measure by some of military aviation's newest technology.

Three days after the disastrous wave washed over its shores, India reportedly launched a number of Israeli-made Searcher drones (above), looking for survivors on land and who might have been washed out to sea.

"We are operating the UAVs from the naval base at Kochi for aerial reconnaissance," an Indian defense ministry official told DefenseNews.com on Saturday. "They send back pictures even as they fly. On spotting distressed people [or bodies], we immediately rush helicopters to the spot for rescue operations."

The official told the website that the Searchers were being primarily used in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of the hardest-hit areas along the Indian coast.

The UAVs were launched from the Indian naval base at Kochi. Among the fleet of SAR drones launched from Kochi were eight Searcher Mk4 and four Heron UAVs (below), all bought from Israel in 2002.

Israel Aircraft Industries, makers of the Searcher and Heron lines, said Indian officials were so impressed with the performance of the UAVs that they're in the process of ordering 50 Heron/Eagle vehicles for approximately $200 million.

That deal should be finalized shortly, according to IAI.

(ANN Correspondent Dave Bender in Jerusalem contributed to this article)

FMI: www.iai.co.il