Elbit Systems (Wikipedia photo)
This morning (Saturday) the Hermes UAV crashed in the Philippines, a year and a half after the Philippine Air Force began accepting the UAVs it purchased from Elbit in a huge deal worth $ 170 million. The Hermes 900 is a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for long stays, made by the Silver Arrow, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Israel. It is intended for operational use within the division and brigade ranks, mainly for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions.
This is the first operational crash of Elbit’s large UAV, one of nine it acquired in the Philippine Air Force giant deal. Two years ago, Hermes crashed 900 Swiss in the country during its development experiments. It should be noted that despite the great improvement in UAV reliability, Their are not uncommon.
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The unmanned aircraft in question crashed in the field, there were no casualties on the ground, but it was completely destroyed. It is a relatively large and expensive unmanned vehicle, which can stay in the air for 30 consecutive hours. He is used by the Philippines for patrol as part of their war with guerrilla forces in South Asia, and for rescue and rescue missions in which he is able to drop folded lifeboats he carries under his wings.
According to the reporting tool in the Philippines, the UAV was on the verge of landing at the military airport in Lumbia, when contact with it was lost. In 2019, the Philippine Army ordered 13 UAVs from Elbit, 9 from the Hermes 900 and 4 from the smaller and cheaper Hermes 450. The Hermes 900 is Elbit’s largest UAV, and has been sold to date to the Israeli Air Force, as well as to Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Philippines, and according to foreign sources also to Azerbaijan.
This is the second time the Hermes UAV has crashed: about a year and a half ago, a Swiss plane of the same model, larger than the one sold to the Philippines, crashed in Israel during its development experiments. The Hermes sold to Switzerland is equipped with autonomous capabilities.
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