Second Hermes 900 prepares to fly.

Gary Mortimer

Elbit Systems are readying a second Hermes 900 for test flight. The first airframe has already amassed 350 hours of test flight time. Smaller sibbling the 450 has more than 170,000 hours of flight time.

Looking to address the growing demand for Tactical MALE UAV platforms, Elbit Systems has recently added the Hermes 900 to its growing UAV family.

The Hermes 900 is a natural extension of the Hermes 450 tactical UAV systems, with full compatibility in missions and support infrastructure. While offering all Hermes UAV family capabilities, it features larger multi-payload configurations, higher flight altitude and extended flight time, with its 15m wingspan, 970 kg max takeoff weight, larger payload capacity (300Kg) and longer endurance, The Hermes 900 is an all weather UAV system.

It incorporates an IATOL (Internal Auto Takeoff and Landing) system that enables auto-landing even on alternate non-instrumented runways. Like the Hermes 450, internationally renowned for its unmatched safety record and reliability, the Hermes 900 features full redundancy and fault tolerant avionics and electronics architecture.