In January 2013, Elbit systems announced the development of the Maritime Hermes 900, a medium altitude, long endurance (MALE) unmanned air system. The UAS can take off and land automatically and fly autonomous missions up to 36 hours in endurance. The Hermes 900 can carry payloads up to 350 kilograms, including an inverse synthetic aperature radar (ISAR), automatic identification system equipment (AIS), an electro-optical/infrared sensor, and electronic surveillance systems.
The Hermes 900's maiden flight was in December of 2009. The aircraft is controlled via redundant line-of-sight and satellite data links and includes a radio relay, allowing UAV operators to talk to vessels it observes at sea. The aircraft features a common ground control station and avionics with other Elbit Hermes variants.
The system includes Windward's satellite-based maritime intelligence system MarInt, which maps and fuses maritime activity from a variety of sources. MarInt analyzes layers of sensor-collected and open-source data to identify anomalous activities in the maritime domain.
The aircraft is being marketed to the Indian Navy and will be exhibited at the Aero India 2013 show in Bengaluru on 6-10 February 2013.
The Maritime Hermes was displayed at the Paris Airshow 2013 where it was featured carrying the Gabbiano maritime search radar from Selex ES, the AMPS long-range VISINT payload, and the Skyfix SIGINT pod.
Elbit Systems Hermes 900 Promotional Video.