Elbit Systems to upgrade Latin American Hermes 900 UAS
Israel-based Elbit Systems has, on 12 April, confirmed that it secured a $20 million contract from two Latin American customers to upgrade their Hermes 900 UAS.
The countries involved in the contract were not reported by the company but the work is expected to be carried out by April 2021.
Elbit will integrate SATCOM and automatic take-off and landing systems into the Hermes 900 which will enhance the MALE UAS to the newest configuration. As a result of the upgrade, the UAS will have an extended maximum range to more than 1000km whilst being capable of performing automatic take-off and landing independent of GPS reception.
Hermes 900 UAS is used for ISTAR, SAR and homeland security functions.
Shephard's Defence Insight reports that Brazil, Colombia and Chile each operate a fleet of Hermes 900.
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