America's armed forces have used armed Predator drones in recent years to take out Al Qaeda operatives and Iraqi artillery. Now, evidence is mounting that Israel may have pilotless, killer planes of its own, Reuters reports. And they may be using 'em to take out Palestinian militants.

"I saw a small plane and then a flash of light, then I heard a huge explosion and a car went up in flames," said Abdel Karim Abdel of Jenin, recounting how three militants were slain by Israel while driving through the West Bank city on Monday...

"The Israelis almost certainly have armed UAV programs on the go right now," said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons.
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"The UAVs offer an ideal 'closed loop': spotting the target and then hitting it from the same platform," Hewson said...

The Web site of Northrop Grumman, a U.S. avionics firm, says the company has rigged its Israeli-designed Hunter drone with missiles that are completely silent, coasting out of the sky onto their targets by using glider fins rather than a propulsion system.