ELBIT: The UAS for civil airspace

For the first time ever, the Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Israel (CAAI) has certified an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for civil aviation. This certification allows it to operate like any other civil aircraft in civilian airspace. With the CAAI's approval, the Hermes Starliner UAS by Elbit Systems meets NATO standards for UAS certification for integration into civilian airspace.

For safety reasons, international aviation regulations prohibit the flight of non-certified aircraft in civilian airspace, limiting UAS operations to reserved airspace. This changes with the certification of the Hermes Starliner UAS by the CAAI. The CAAI has overseen the development and manufacturing of the Hermes Starliner UAS and led a strict six-year certification process that included extensive ground and flight tests. The tests were conducted in accordance with flight navigation rules, basic airworthiness requirements, and aviation standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

With a wingspan of 17 meters and a weight of 1.6 tons, the Hermes Starliner UAS by Elbit Systems is capable of flying continuously for up to 36 hours at an altitude of up to 25,000 feet, carrying up to 450kg of electro-optical, thermal, radar, and other payloads.

Elbit Systems has been contracted by the Swiss Ministry of Defense and Canadian Ministry of Transportation to deliver the Hermes Starliner UAS, as well as by a dozen other countries for delivery of other variants of the Hermes 900 UAS.

Approval of a UAS for flight over populated areas and in any civilian airspace allows governments and international commercial organizations to deploy large unmanned aircraft with long endurance for missions that were previously only carried out by manned aircraft. The Hermes Starliner UAS will be capable of participating in border security and anti-terror operations, assisting in the security of public events, conducting search and rescue missions at sea, performing commercial aviation and environmental inspection tasks, as well as precision work in agriculture.

Elbit Systems has integrated advanced technologies for civil aviation into the Hermes Starliner UAS, an evolution of the technologically matured Hermes 900 UAS, to meet certification standards. These technologies include a terrain avoidance warning system, automatic takeoff and landing in low visibility, redundant avionics, sensors and satellite data connections, as well as capabilities to handle adverse weather conditions and protect against direct lightning strikes.

ELBIT SYSTEM DEUTSCHLAND on the Internet.