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Jerusalem : The Ministry of Transport and Road Safety in Israel has announced the country’s first certification for unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) to fly in civilian airspace. The Israeli Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granted approval to the Hermes Starliner unmanned system on Wednesday. Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence electronics company, developed and constructed the system.
“I am proud that Israel is the first country to allow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate for the benefit of agriculture, the environment, crime prevention, people, and the economy,” Israeli Transport and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli stated.
According to the Xinhua news agency, Elbit’s drone will now be able to fly in civilian airspace like any other commercial airliner, rather than being restricted to unsegregated airspace.
The Hermes Starliner, with a wingspan of 17 metres and a weight of 1.6 tonnes, can fly for up to 36 hours at an altitude of roughly 7,600 metres and a cargo of 450 kg of electro-optical, thermal, radar, and other payloads. It will be able to help with border security and anti-terror operations, as well as securing large public events, marine search and rescue, commercial aviation, and environmental inspection missions, and precision agriculture work.
The CAA oversaw the Hermes Starliner’s design and production, as well as a six-year certification procedure that included numerous ground and air tests.
Uncertified aircraft are prohibited from flying in civilian airspace under international aviation standards, confining UAV operations to unsegregated airspace.
