The Heron TP MALE also nammed Eitan in Israel, is a variant of Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). Heron TP is an advanced, multi-purpose MALE UAS with an extended performance envelope and a variety of payloads capability. The Heron TP was designed as a multi-purpose, multi-system platform to address local and international customers' needs and to perform a variety of strategic missions with a high level of reliability. In April 2004, the Israeli Air Force magazine announced the existence of the programme and reported that two prototypes were already flying. In March the following year, US company Aurora Flight Sciences announced a joint venture to market the aircraft under the name Orion. Aurora hoped to have a machine flying during 2007, but by the middle of that year, the company had not released anything further about the project. Meanwhile reports emerged of a "first flight" for the Eitan in Israel on 15 July 2006, despite the previous reports that the aircraft had already been flying two years previously. The Heron TP was publicly unveiled at a media event at Tel Nof Airbase on 8 October 2007. One report stated that Israel deployed Eitans in its alleged 2009 airstrike against a Gaza-bound Iranian arms convoy traveling through Sudan. In February 2010 the Israeli Air Force unveiled its new fleet of Eitans. The first unit to operate the type, 210 Squadron, was inaugurated at Tel Nof in December 2010.