Article Posted on : - Jun 07, 2011

HAIFA (BNS): Israel's Elbit Systems has won a contract from a Latin American country to supply the Hermes(R) 900 unmanned aerial vehicles.

The pilotless planes will also include complementing ground control stations, as well as Elbit Systems Electro-optics - Elop Ltd.'s highly advanced DCoMPASS(TM) payload systems and radar systems, the company said without divulging details of the contract value and customer name.

Elbit had tested the new Hermes 900 system in December, 2009.

An improvised version of the Hermes 450 tactical UAV, Hermes 900 is a medium sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle designed for medium altitude long endurance tactical missions.

Hermes 900 offers a range of enhanced capabilities, from higher flight altitude (over 30,000 ft) to longer endurance and larger payload capacity.

The system's unique multipurpose payload bay enables it to carry a wide variety of payloads in different shapes and sizes for quick “conversion” between various payload configurations.

It is an all-weather aircraft with automatic take-off and landing capability.

The latest deal has been bagged by Elbit Systems following an order worth $50 million for the Hermes 900 systems placed by the Israeli Defense Forces in 2010.