The IAI RQ-5 Hunter was originally developed as an unmanned aerial vehicle for the US Army, intended to provide reconnaissance at the division and corps level. It was based on an Israeli design and selected over another competitor in the early 1990s. Initial operational evaluations went poorly, with several crashes, but it saw active service starting in 1999 in Kosovo and later in Iraq and Afghanistan. The RQ-5 Hunter had a maximum endurance of 11.6 hours and could carry a payload of up to 198 pounds while providing real-time surveillance video via a data link to operators on the ground.