The Pegasus (full name E1-79 ΠΗΓΑΣΟΣ) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a 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 and Development Center) and its first flight was made in 1982. Its main uses are surveillance and intelligence gathering; first generation (Pegasus I) had a length of 2.1 meters, wingspan 5 m, maximum speed 160 kilometers/hour, minimum speed 75 km/h, take-off load 130 kilograms and autonomy 3.5 hours. 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. Four units (each one including the aircraft and ground stations and equipment) are currently operational, with 12 more under construction by KEA. Pegasus II can carry a maximum payload weight of 50 kg, and thanks to the wide use of composite materials for its construction represents a substantial improvement of the Pegasus I design. Its technical features make it suitable for surveillance, target acquisition, and damage assessment and it is evaluated as elint payload carrier. Expectations for its use as a weapon carrier are limited by its relatively small payload capacity (a payload capacity of 100 kg would render it more suitable for this type of missions).
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; it was considered too expensive for the Greek Air Force requirements.
