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Israeli military drone, 1998 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hermes 450 is a medium-sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed by Israeli defence company Elbit for tactical long endurance missions. It has an endurance of over 20 hours, with a primary mission of reconnaissance, surveillance and communications relay. Payload options include electro-optical/infrared sensors, communications and electronic intelligence, synthetic-aperture radar/ground-moving target indication, electronic warfare, and hyperspectral sensors.
| Hermes 450 | |
|---|---|
,_(cropped).jpg) A Hermes 450 from 166 Squadron in flight | |
| General information | |
| Type | Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle |
| National origin | Israel |
| Manufacturer | Elbit Systems |
| Status | Active |
| Primary users | Israeli Air Force |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1998 |
| Variants | Thales Watchkeeper WK450 |
| Developed into | Elbit Hermes 900 |
The Hermes 450 is a medium-sized UAV with a cylindrical shaped fuselage, high straight wings and a V-tail. It is autonomous from take off to landing, with an auto pilot capable of take off and landing. It can be controlled completely from a ground station.[1]
In 2008, Elbit announced that a new R902(W) Wankel engine, weighing about 40 kilograms (88 lb) and developing 70 brake horsepower (52 kW) using electronic fuel control, would be used in the Hermes 450.[2]
It has the option of carrying four Rafael Spike missiles.[3]
It is the basis of the Thales Watchkeeper WK450 and Hermes 900 designs.[1]
On September 12, 2011, a UAV was reportedly shot down by the Artsakh Defense Army (ARDA) over the airspace of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh.[4] Preliminary investigations carried out by the ARDA have determined the model to be a Hermes 450 type.[5]
A Conexão Reporter story on the 2018 military intervention in Rio de Janeiro shows that at least one Hermes 450 drone was used by the Brazilian military to provide ISR during security operations.[6]
In April 2008, amid Georgian and Russian spy plane shootdowns, three Elbit Hermes 450 were shot down by Russian forces, one by a Mig-29 and other two by ground fire.[7] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated and showed the debris of two Herbil drones shot down on March 18 and April 20 with serial numbers 551 and 553 respectively.[8] A UNOMIG mission report said that the panel found the debris of at least three Georgian Hermes 450 drones shot down on 18 March, 20 April and 12 May 2008. Abkhazian forces claimed 7 drones shot down.[9] According to Georgia's president and emails from Stratfor, the drones data link codes were given to Russia by Israel in exchange for the codes for Tor-M1 missile defense systems that Russia sold Iran.[10][11]
Israeli Hermes 450 UAVs has seen service in the Gaza Strip operations, the Second Lebanon War as well as in the 2009 Sudan air raids.[12][13][14]
Three Hermes 450 drones were lost during the 2006 Lebanon War, two by technical difficulties and one by an operator error.[13]
On 11 July 2015, an Israeli Hermes 450 drone was reported crashed near Tripoli port, Lebanon. The drone was 8 meters under water and was retrieved by the Lebanese Army.[15][16]
On 31 March 2018, an Israeli Hermes 450 drone crashed due to a technical failure. An additional Israeli drone bombed the crashed drone. The Lebanese Army issued a statement saying that the crashed drone was found to be equipped with four unexploded ordnance. A technical unit of the Lebanese Army detonated it.[17]
On 5 November 2023, during the Lebanon Israeli clashes related to the Israel–Hamas war, Hezbollah shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone that was flying over Nabatieh south Lebanon.[18] Wreckage of the drone fell over houses in the towns of Zabdin and Harouf.[19]
On 18 November 2023, Hezbollah shot down a Hermes 450 in South Lebanon after it advanced to the Lebanese airspace.[citation needed]
On 26 February 2024, Hezbollah shot down a Hermes 450 drone with a surface to air missile.[20][21][22] On 1 April 2024, a Hermes 450 drone reportedly carried out missile strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.[23][24]
The Hermes 450 was operated by the 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery of the British Army on military operations in Afghanistan, supplied under a leasing contract starting July 2007 from a Thales/Elbit consortium.[25] Of the 52 operated by the British in Afghanistan and Iraq, seven have crashed in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.[26][27]
In initial testing, the Hermes 450 was used to capture pictures of farmland in North Dakota, the only state with an FAA clearance to fly drones above the current federal maximum height limit of 200 feet.[28]
The British version of Hermes 450 was the only Hermes to use laser gyroscopes in its inertial navigation system. The UK Ministry of Defence did not take up the option for wing mounted armament. The Hermes 450 is the basis of the British Army's Watchkeeper WK450, development of which started in July 2005 in conjunction with Thales. In September 2013, the Hermes 450 reached 70,000 flight hours supporting British troops in Afghanistan, the equivalent of 8 years of non-stop flying. The British had flown the Hermes 450 more than any other country in Afghanistan.[46] As of January 2014, British Hermes 450 air vehicles flew over 86,000 hours over Iraq and Afghanistan. Up to nine aircraft operated from Camp Bastion and conducted five flights per day, accumulating a combined 70 hours of surveillance coverage.[47] When the Watchkeeper WK450 entered service in Afghanistan in mid-September 2014 and the ground-based radar coverage at Bastion was switched off, the British Army stopped using the interim leased Hermes 450.[48]
Data from Elbit Systems Australia[49] israeli-weapons.com[41]
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