Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Photo: Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. has been awarded two contracts valued at a total of approximately $20 million from unnamed Latin American customers to upgrade their Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). 

Elbit plans to integrate satellite communication systems and automatic takeoff and landing systems into the customers’ Hermes 900 UAS. This will update the Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAS to the latest configuration, enable extension of the operational range to more than 1000 km and the capability to perform takeoff and landing autonomously and independent of GPS reception.  

Both contracts are set to be performed within a 12-month period. The Hermes 900 UAV performs a wide range of missions in the fields of Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), homeland security, and maritime search and rescue.