After a series of successful training and pilot flights a Kochav—‘star’ in Hebrew—is born in the form of the Elbit Hermes 900 operational drone which has been incorporated into Israel’s air force.
The new remote-controlled Israeli medium-sized drone is the improved version of its predecessor the Elbit Hermes 450. The main objective in its redevelopment was to double its power and capabilities in an array of aspects namely size load capacity air time capability and distance abilities.
In addition to the multiple changes made to the UAV several elements and characteristics of its predecessor have been maintained including its communication system the way in which it is operated and maintenance methods.
Despite the similarities between the two drones; however the Kochav could not be automatically incorporated into the air force without required adaptation training and test flights to comprehensively ready it for military use.
According to the Israel Air Force developers of the Kochav have met the core multiple requirements including extending its power capacity and air time. Moreover the quantity of equipment that can be attached to the Kochav has been significantly increased. “This is a quantum leap in technological capabilities” said an Israeli army official.
The kochav is nine meters long with a wingspan of 16 meters. It can reach an impressive maximum speed of 200 kph and can stay in the air for up to 30 hours.
