EDEX 2025: Egypt Unveils Tiger TLC 79 Vehicle With New Skairon Drone Launcher.

Egypt’s EIFDS displayed a Tiger TLC 79 armored patrol vehicle fitted with a newly integrated tactical UAV rail launcher during EDEX 2025 in Cairo. The pairing highlights Egypt’s push to field domestically built loitering munitions that give small units organic surveillance and precision strike options.

A new vehicle-mounted UAV launcher quietly drew attention at EDEX 2025, where Eagles International for Defense Systems presented its Toyota Land Cruiser 79-based Tiger patrol vehicle carrying a Skairon Industries loitering munition-class drone. According to company materials and Army Recognition reporting at the show, the roof-mounted rail system is designed to give platoon-sized elements a rapid launch sensor-to-shooter tool that can be deployed seconds after the vehicle comes to a halt, while keeping the platform within the weight and mobility limits of the Land Cruiser family.
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A compact rail-launched Skairon loitering munition mounted on the Egyptian Tiger TLC 79 patrol vehicle provides rapid on-the-move launch capability, delivering short-range reconnaissance and precision strike options directly to frontline units while preserving the vehicle’s high mobility and lightweight profile (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

The system combines EIFDS’s Toyota Land Cruiser 79-based Tiger, a BR6-protected 4x4 patrol platform, with a roof-mounted rail launcher carrying a Skairon Industries loitering munition-class UAV. The base vehicle retains its 4.0-liter V6 petrol engine, 5-speed manual transmission, and 2 plus 6 seating arrangement, while the tubular upper structure now supports both a light weapon station forward and the UAV cradle aft. This keeps the vehicle within the weight envelope of the Land Cruiser family, preserving mobility in desert and rough terrain.

Detailed data for the Skairon air vehicle have not yet been released, but visual analysis shows a compact fixed-wing design with mid-mounted wings, X tail, and multiple underwing hardpoints, pointing to a modular payload concept that could support either an electro-optic sensor package for reconnaissance or a small warhead for precision strike. The exposed rail launcher positions the UAV longitudinally above the cargo area, suggesting a straightforward roll-off or assisted launch sequence that can be executed within seconds after the vehicle halts.

The Tiger itself provides a protected, self-supporting armored cell for the crew, rated to defeat 7.62 millimeter NATO ball and 5.56 millimeter SS109 rounds on all sides and roof, which is important when operating close to the line of contact, where small arms and ambush threats are constant. With two weapon stations, jerrycan racks, and ammunition stowage already part of the standard configuration, the addition of the UAV kit turns the vehicle into a combined fire support and overwatch node for platoon-level units.

The concept mirrors global trends in loitering munitions such as the Israeli UVision Hero family and Turkey’s STM Alpagu, where small, electrically powered drones provide organic sensor-to-shooter capability for maneuver elements. Systems like Hero 30 offer ranges up to tens of kilometers with 30 to 40 minutes endurance from man-portable or vehicle-mounted launchers, whereas heavier versions such as Hero 400 employ canisterized launchers on 4x4 vehicles for longer range precision effects. The Skairon solution appears to target the lighter end of this spectrum, prioritizing simplicity, rapid reload, and low cost over sealed canister sophistication.

For Egypt, integrating a domestic UAV on a domestically produced armored platform directly supports national policy to localize advanced defense production and increase export potential, a priority that officials have highlighted across successive EDEX editions. The Tiger chassis, already marketed to African and Middle Eastern customers, can be offered in multiple mission variants, from mortar carrier to patrol truck, using common logistics and training. The UAV launcher becomes another modular kit that partner nations can adopt to add precision engagement and aerial surveillance without having to procure separate dedicated unmanned systems vehicles.

In practical terms, a country fielding this configuration could assign the Tiger UAV teams to border security battalions, special forces, or desert reconnaissance units. A patrol could drive to a vantage point, launch the Skairon UAV to scan wadis or urban edges for ambushes, then either pass live video to higher headquarters or prosecute time-sensitive targets with a loitering strike, while the vehicle’s machine gun covers the team. For many mid-tier armies that cannot yet afford large tactical UAV squadrons, the EIFDS Skairon pairing offers an accessible first step into networked, vehicle-borne loitering munitions, even if its performance will need to evolve to match the range and autonomy of more established Western and Turkish systems.