Elbit Systems is making a wide marketing effort to sell its Hermes 900 unmanned air system to additional customers in Latin America, after confirming its first sale in the region on 6 June.
The Israeli company declined to name the launch export buyer for its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system, but Flightglobal last month identified Chile as having selected the design. The nation's air force and army had evaluated the type against the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron.
"The UAS will also include complementing ground control stations, as well as Elop's advanced DCompass payload and radar systems," said Elbit.
Based on the combat-proven Hermes 450 air vehicle, which has accumulated more than 190,000 flight hours, the roughly 1,100kg (2,420lb) maximum take-off weight Hermes 900 can fly above 30,000ft (9,150m) on long-endurance missions. With a 15m wingspan, it can carry a maximum payload weight of 300kg and also operate in adverse weather conditions.
Elbit is emphasising the smaller vehicle's existing use in the region mainly for training and maintenance considerations.
Source: Flight International
