The Israeli Air Force (IAF) will soon acquire the “Hermes 900” Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) manufactured by Elbit Systems Ltd.
Asenior IAF officer Said that the IAF is co-partner in the development
of the model, which will be assigned to the squadron currently
operating the “Hermes 450”, another Elbit Systems product.
Built
as a medium-altitude long-endurance aircraft, many of the Hermes 900’s
features are twice the size of those in the older model. With its 15-
meter wingspan, carrying capacity of 350 kilograms (maximum), and
cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, Hermes 900 can remain aloft twice as
long – over forty hours - as the earlier model.
Experts
believe that its long-endurance capability and satellite communication
systems will enable it to operate in ranges of thousands of kilometers,
thus reaching countries as distant as Iran.
Hermes
900 carries equipment under its belly and wings. Cameras and other
visual devices can be quickly replaced for daytime or nighttime
missions.
The
air force is testing the UAVs in the designated squadrons. The “UAV
Intelligence and Space Department” is responsible for the technical
aspects of operating and maintaining an allweather aircraft on a 24-hour
a day basis.
Elbit Systems has announced that three “Hermes 900s” will be delivered to the IDF.
“In the future, one third of the IAF’s aircraft will be UAVs”, a senior air force officer Said.
Comments
Post a Comment