HAIFA, Israel, 7 June 2011.Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designers at Elbit Systems will provide military forces of Chile with one of Israel's most advanced UAVs, the Hermes 900, under terms of a contract announced Monday worth a reported several tens of millions of dollars. The order from Chile follow the initial order for the new UAV from the Israeli Defense Forces.The advanced Hermes 900 UAV builds on the technologies that went into its predecessor, the Hermes 450, which Elbit officials say represents the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces UAV fleet.The Hermes 900 can fly at altitudes higher than 30,000 feet, and has longer endurance and larger UAV payload capacity than the Hermes 450, Elbit officials say. The 900 model has a multipurpose payload bay that accommodates a wide variety of payloads, and enables ground crew to change payloads quickly between various configurations.
The Hermes 900 also has a common unified ground control station (UGCS) to help the new aircraft integrate easily into existing operations. Chile reportedly will use the Hermes 900 for surveillance and reconnaissance along the South American nation's long coastline.
For more information contact Elbit Systems online at www.elbitsystems.com, or the Chilean ministry of defense at www.defensa.cl.
