Canadian Forces have begun deploying unmanned aerial drones in Afghan skies, which officials say will help save the lives of Canadian soldiers by improving their intelligence capabilities.
The drones are called Herons and are equipped with cameras that allow the Canadian military to spy on Taliban activities from high up above the ground.
The unmanned aircraft, which took to the skies last month, are piloted from the ground by soldiers like Capt. Peter Shirley.
"This aircraft will fly for quite a long time," Shirley told Â鶹´«Ã½ recently. "Over 24 hours on a full tank of gas."
The Heron replaces the Sperwer -- a French-made aircraft, used since 2003, that cannot fly for as long and which the military believes is too loud to be an effective tool for spying. The outdated aircraft are also costly to maintain and have a shortage of available parts.
By contrast, the Israeli-made Heron can cruise as high as 10 kilometres above the Earth and is known for its silent stealth.
Col. Christopher Coates, the commander of Canada's air wing, said the two types of drones are miles apart when it comes to their aerial capabilities.
"The Sperwer might be like a 1950s vehicle, just able to do the job and perform, whereas the Heron is definitely a 2000 model," Coates told Â鶹´«Ã½.
Military officials will not say exactly how sophisticated the Heron's camera systems are, but they claim the newly-introduced drone can zoom in on the smallest of targets from 100 kilometres away.
While Heron units can be used to track the movement of Canadian Forces troops on the ground, the Canadian military is more excited about their ability to watch what Taliban troops are doing on Afghan roads.
This capability, achieved partially through the use of infrared sensors, is of particular benefit when Canadian Forces are trying to keep track of the planting of dangerous IEDs that put Canadian lives at risk.
"We're not going to be able to spot every IED with a Heron, but we're quite certain we're going to be able to make a difference," Coates said.
For now, the Herons do not have the capability to take out targets from the air, like the U.S.-favoured Predator drone.
But military strategists say it may only be a matter of time until the Canadian drones get firepower of their own.
With a report from CTV's Steve Chao and files from The Canadian Press
