Hermes 900

Israel's workhorse multi-role MALE UAS — a persistent surveillance and unacknowledged strike platform with 36-hour endurance, SATCOM over-the-horizon control, and over 120 airframes ordered by more than 20 operators worldwide.

Overview

The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 — known in Israeli Air Force service as "Kochav" (Star) — is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system that has become the backbone of the IAF’s persistent ISR fleet and an export mainstay. It can carry 350 kg of payloads ranging from EO/IR and SAR/GMTI to maritime radar, SIGINT and electronic-warfare suites, all while loitering for up to 36 hours via satellite communications. Israel officially designates the Hermes 900 a surveillance platform, but trade-press reports describe compatibility with Spike-family guided missiles, giving it an unacknowledged precision-strike capability. More than 20 countries on four continents have acquired the type, including Switzerland (ADS 15), Brazil (RQ-900), India (Drishti-10 Starliner) and Canada (StarLiner), and new orders from Singapore and a $120 million maritime customer in 2025 keep the production line busy.

Development

Elbit Systems developed the Hermes 900 as the longer-legged successor to the widely-used Hermes 450, flying the prototype for the first time on 9 December 2009 and securing Chile as the launch export customer in 2011, followed by Colombia, Mexico and Brazil Wikipedia. The IAF rushed the aircraft into combat while it was still in advanced development, operating it over Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in July 2014 with Elbit maintainers still on base; the type formally entered the IAF’s operational lineup on 11 November 2015 Wikipedia. From that baseline the family grew rapidly. The heavy-fuel-engine Hermes 900 HFE was developed for Switzerland’s ADS 15 requirement under a 2015 contract worth about $256 million, but the programme has been plagued by delays and quality shortfalls — full military capability is now projected no earlier than 2029 according to the Swiss Federal Audit Office Shephard Media. The StarLiner variant, built to STANAG 4671 and certified by Israel’s civil-aviation authority for un-segregated civilian airspace, opened government and para-public markets, including Canada’s Arctic surveillance programme and the EU’s maritime-safety agency Elbit StarLiner. India’s Drishti-10 Starliner added licensed co-production by Adani Defence & Aerospace from 2024. In February 2024 Elbit unveiled the Hermes 650 Spark, a next-generation tactical MALE positioned below the Hermes 900 that the IAF plans to introduce within about two years Calcalist.

Design & capabilities

The airframe is a conventional pusher-prop design with fixed tricycle landing gear, powered by a single Rotax 916 engine delivering roughly 160 kW. The baseline aircraft can stay aloft for up to 36 hours at a service ceiling of 30,000 ft, cruise at approximately 112 km/h and reach a maximum speed of around 220 km/h Elbit Hermes 900. Total payload capacity is 350 kg, divided between a 250 kg modular internal bay and wing hardpoints; the StarLiner raises that to 450 kg Elbit StarLiner.

The sensor suite is the heart of the platform. Standard fits include multi-sensor EO/IR with laser designator, synthetic-aperture radar/ground moving-target indicator (SAR/GMTI), maritime surveillance radar with automatic identification system (AIS), and a full range of ELINT/COMINT/COMJAM electronic-warfare packages. Hyperspectral and wide-area persistent surveillance payloads have also been integrated. Control is exercised via SATCOM for beyond-line-of-sight operations — IAF missions have been flown over 1,500 km from Israel to Iran — or by line-of-sight datalink through the Hermes Universal Ground Control Station, which can simultaneously manage a Hermes 900 and a Hermes 450 Elbit Hermes 900.

Although Israel describes the Kochav solely as a surveillance platform, trade-press reporting consistently attributes Strike-family guided-missile compatibility to the type Wikipedia. The exact nature and extent of that capability remain an open but officially unacknowledged subject.

Variants

• Hermes 900 (Kochav) — baseline multi-payload ISR MALE.
• Hermes 900 HFE / ADS 15 — Swiss configuration with heavy-fuel engine, de-icing and detect-and-avoid avionics for civilian-airspace operations.
• Hermes 900 StarLiner — STANAG 4671-compliant, certified for un-segregated civilian airspace; MTOW 1,600 kg, payload 450 kg, full de-icing and detect-and-avoid radar; the basis of India’s Drishti-10 and Canada’s Arctic-capable StarLiner.
• Hermes 900 Maritime Patrol — fitted with maritime radar and AIS, capable of dropping up to four six-person life-rafts for search and rescue.
• Drishti-10 Starliner — Adani-built Indian variant for the Indian Navy and Army.
• Hermes 650 Spark — not a derivative but Elbit’s next-generation tactical MALE, unveiled in 2024 as a cheaper complement that will eventually replace the Hermes 450.

Combat record / operational use

The Hermes 900 was rushed into combat over Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in July 2014, even before its official service entry. Since the post-October-2023 conflicts it has been both a workhorse and a conspicuous target. Hezbollah downed the first Hermes 900 with a surface-to-air missile over southern Lebanon on 6 April 2024 — a loss valued at roughly $10 million — and followed up with kills on 1 June, 10 June (Alma’s count marked it as the fifth Israeli MALE UAV lost since the war’s start) and 29 October 2024 Jerusalem Post 6 April Alma.

During the June 2025 Operation Rising Lion against Iran, the Kochav fleet was instrumental in hunting concealed ballistic-missile launchers and mobile air-defense systems while UAVs logged roughly 70 % of all IAF flight hours Jerusalem Post 2025. Yet the campaign also produced the first confirmed Israeli drone shoot-down over Iranian territory: a Hermes 900 (serial 997) was struck by a SAM near Isfahan on 18 June 2025, with the IDF confirming no sensitive information was at risk Times of Israel. Two more were downed on 23 June near Khorramabad and Arak, their wreckage displayed in Iranian media.

Outside the Middle East, Brazil’s air force used Hermes 900s to locate 36 flood victims in 24 hours during the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods, though one aircraft crashed during the operation and was replaced for approximately $9 million Army Recognition. The European Maritime Safety Agency has flown contracted Hermes 900 maritime-surveillance services since 2018, and Iceland uses the type for exclusive-economic-zone monitoring. Azerbaijan acquired the system (confirmed 2018), while Armenia claimed a shoot-down in July 2020 that Baku denied. Switzerland’s ADS 15 fleet and Canada’s Coast Guard StarLiner remain in test or working-up stages rather than full operations.

Advantages

• Multi-payload flexibility — 350 kg payload bay can host EO/IR, SAR/GMTI, maritime radar, SIGINT/EW and hyperspectral sensors, all controlled via SATCOM for over-the-horizon missions Elbit Hermes 900.
• Long persistence — up to 36 hours at 30,000 ft, proven in high-tempo combat where the fleet provided persistent sensor coverage during Operation Rising Lion Jerusalem Post 2025.
• Civilian-airspace certification — the StarLiner’s STANAG 4671 compliance and Israeli CAAI type certificate have unlocked government and para-public customers that no rival MALE can access, such as Canada’s Arctic surveillance programme and EU maritime agencies Elbit StarLiner CBC.
• Broad export success — more than 20 operators, over 120 airframes ordered, and fresh 2025 wins (Singapore, a $120 million maritime customer, Serbia) sustain a global support ecosystem Jerusalem Post Singapore The Defense Post.
• Civil-support utility — Brazilian Hermes 900s demonstrated rapid humanitarian value during the 2024 floods, lasing rescue positions for helicopters Army Recognition.

Drawbacks / limitations

• Proven vulnerability to modern SAMs — Hezbollah and Iran shot down multiple Hermes 900s in 2024-25; Alma notes that the slow speed, long loiter and high signature of MALE UAVs place them squarely inside the engagement envelopes of Iranian-supplied systems such as the 358 missile Alma Jerusalem Post 6 April Times of Israel.
• Expensive attrition — each loss is estimated at roughly $10 million, and the type carries no acknowledged self-protection or evasion suite Jerusalem Post 6 April Alma.
• Swiss programme delays — a 2015 contract has suffered chronic delivery and quality problems; first two aircraft arrived only in 2022 with “major quality deficiencies,” and full military requirements are now forecast for 2029 at the earliest Shephard Media.
• Officially ambiguous armed capability — the lack of an acknowledged strike role complicates export positioning and limits what missions customers can openly advertise.
• Early Drishti-10 issues — an Indian Navy Drishti-10 crashed off Porbandar in January 2025 during pre-acceptance trials amid reported SATCOM disconnection problems, and the Army’s aircraft were grounded for technical fixes.

Counterparts

• MQ-9 Reaper (USA)
• Bayraktar Akinci (Turkey)

Outlook

Demand remains strong — Singapore’s Hermes 900 delivery, the October 2025 $120 million maritime contract, and Serbia’s 2025 reveal keep the line busy — but the spike in attrition over Lebanon and Iran has crystallised the survivability question hanging over the entire MALE class. Elbit’s response is twofold: the certified-airspace StarLiner is pushing deeper into civil and para-public missions (Canada’s Coast Guard StarLiner is scheduled to begin Arctic surveillance test flights in summer 2026 CBC), while the smaller, more expendable Hermes 650 Spark will enter Israeli service within roughly two years to complement and eventually replace the Hermes 450 Calcalist. Switzerland’s protracted ADS 15 programme — full capability not before 2029 — remains the reputational drag to watch Shephard Media.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Elbit Systems — Hermes 900 product page. https://www.elbitsystems.com/autonomous/aerial/male-unmanned-aircraft-systems/hermes-900
2. Elbit Systems — Hermes StarLiner product page. https://www.elbitsystems.com/autonomous/aerial/male-unmanned-aircraft-systems/hermes-starliner
3. Wikipedia — Elbit Hermes 900. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbit_Hermes_900
4. The Jerusalem Post — Israeli drone shot down by Hezbollah was worth $10 million. https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/hezbollahs-painful-blow-israeli-uav-struck-down-in-lebanon-795950
5. The Times of Israel — In first, Israeli drone shot down over Iran; IDF says no fear of information leaking. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-israeli-drone-shot-down-over-iran-idf-says-no-fear-of-information-leaking/
6. Alma Research and Education Center — Interception of Israeli Drones by Hezbollah: Analysis and Consequences. https://israel-alma.org/interception-of-israeli-drones-by-hezbollah-analysis-and-consequences/
7. Shephard Media — Switzerland’s Hermes 900 procurement faces further delays and headwinds. https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/air-warfare/switzerlands-hermes-900-procurement-faces-further-delays-and-headwinds/
8. The Jerusalem Post — Drones define Israel’s military edge during Operation Roaring Lion. https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-888382
9. The Jerusalem Post — Singapore to field Israeli Hermes 900 drones with 36 hour endurance. https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-872786
10. CBC News — Canadian Coast Guard tests Arctic surveillance drone as air force delivery stalls. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/drones-arctic-coast-guard-rcaf-technology-surveillance-9.7162269
11. Army Recognition — Brazilian Air Force acquires new Hermes RQ-900 surveillance drone after crash. https://armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2024/brazilian-air-force-acquires-new-hermes-rq-900-surveillance-drone-after-crash
12. The Defense Post — Elbit Lands Hermes 900 Deal With Global Customer for Maritime Surveillance. https://thedefensepost.com/2025/10/02/elbit-hermes-maritime-surveillance/
13. Calcalist / CTech — Eyes on Iran: Israel expands drone fleet for the next war. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rk8ngo4azl