While Romania is close to buying Elbit’s Hermes 450 Watchkeeper class II tactical drones, the Israelis are currently testing a much more advanced version of the big brother, a drone whose parts are already manufactured in Romania and could end up being fully built in the country in the future if the army will decide to integrate it into its fund. HotNews.ro was in Israel and filmed the Hermes 900 Starliner drone, the first military drone that can fly automatically in unsegregated civilian airspace among other civilian aircraft.

context:

• Romania is currently conducting a new tender for NATO class II tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (up to 600 kg). In this procurement procedure, only the Israelis from Elbit submitted a proposal with the Hermes 450 Watchkeeper drone, a drone whose components are also produced in our country, at the Elbit factories in Bacau. According to the contract, which provides for 7 systems of three aircraft worth about 300 million euros, all drones must be produced in our country.

• In parallel, Romania also decided to purchase Bayraktar TB2 attack drones, which means that our country will soon be able to use two different types of drones.

• However, in the future, the armed forces may also turn to a higher class of strategic drones. Here, Elbit brings to the table the Hermes 900 Starliner, a 1.5-ton drone that is the only one that has received civil certification to fly in non-separated civil airspace.

• Likewise, some parts of this drone – cables, mechanical components, assemblies, etc. – are already produced in Romania. For this drone, as well as the smaller Hermes 450 Watchkeeper model, Elbit says it will set up an assembly and integration line in the country, where it will work with Aerostar Bacău and Romaero to manufacture all composite fuselage components.

VIDEO REPORT – How the Hermes 900 Starliner drone is being tested in Israel

In a modern armed conflict, the role of drones is essential, and we were fully convinced of this during the war in Ukraine. For example, not only for attack missions, but especially for intelligence gathering, surveillance and fire control.

Even outside of war, however, drones retain their role as intelligence-gathering platforms and can be used in numerous peacetime reconnaissance missions, even search and rescue missions. But in peacetime, until now, for safe operation, drones had to operate in airspace closed to civilian aircraft, that is, set aside specifically for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Essentially, a strip of civil airspace on a certain surface is specifically reserved for the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle, limiting not only civilian air traffic, but also the areas where the drone can operate.

The Hermes 900 Starliner is the first unmanned aerial vehicle in the world to receive official certification that it can operate automatically in unsegregated civilian airspace, effectively between other civilian aircraft, Elbit says.

Hermes 900 Starliner is the first drone certified for flights in non-separated civil airspace, made from spare parts from Romania

“It is the only one in the world that has a civil certificate to fly in civil airspace. This means that it has been approved by the civil aviation authority to fly in civil airspace. This is the first drone to receive such a highly complex certification. This means that we have all the safety elements in place, from design, manufacturing and integrated systems, the aircraft can fly in non-segregated areas, in areas with other civilian aircraft,” says Asaf Cohen, director of development for the aerospace division of Elbit. .

The Hermes 900 Starliner relies on several systems that automatically detect aircraft around it, communicate with them, and can automatically make “decisions” to adjust its flight relative to other aircraft to avoid collisions. (systems such as TCAS – Traffic Collision Avoidance System or Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Detection and Avoidance – D&A). At the same time, the drone has automatic terrain avoidance systems and can take off and land independently regardless of weather conditions.

Although it is manufactured in Israel and is now being tested for the end user in Switzerland, some components are manufactured in Romania.

“These are the Elbit factories in Romania, in Bacau, in Bucharest, which produce electronic and mechanical parts for drones. We use them in all of our drones that we build for all of our customers,” explains Cohen.

Romania buys Class II tactical drones. Elbit is the only participant in the race with the Hermes 450 Watchkeeper model

Romania is currently looking to acquire drones, but for now it has focused on NATO Class II tactical drones (up to 600 kg) as well as Bayraktar TB2 attack drones.

In the public procurement procedure for Class II tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, only Elbit submitted a tender with the Hermes 450 Watchkeeper model, a drone developed and used by many in Israel, but refined according to the requirements and needs of the British Army. The contract worth about 300 million euros for 7 systems (3 drones each) also provides for the integration of production in the country. Here, Elbit has an advantage, it already produces some parts in Romania, and it aims to open an assembly and integration line in the country, as well as the production of fuselage parts together with Romaero Băneasa.

“The current requirements of Romania concern a NATO class II drone, up to 700 kg, which is mainly used for tactical tasks for the army, for the naval forces. This Hermes 900 Starliner is a top tier, 1.5 ton drone, it’s a Category III, for strategic level missions. As a next step, this could be a very important development for the Romanian fleet,” says the representative of Elbit.

“Both drones belong to the Hermes family. This means that there are similar components and elements. We are talking about the ground control station, sensors, avionics. There are also components that we took from the Hermes 450 Watchkeeper and used on the Hermes 900 Starliner,” the representative of the Israeli company said in a report by HotNews.ro.

SEE ALSO:

• Watchkeeper X VIDEO – All the details on the British Army military drone that could be made in Romania for the Romanian Army

• Romania wants to buy Bayraktar TB2 attack drones