The Republic of Singapore’s Air Force (SAF) has announced that it has selected Israel’s Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to replace the fleet of Hermes 450 UAVs, which it has had in service for the past 20 years and are “becoming obsolete,” as part of its “SAF2040 transformation.”
The announcement, made on Facebook, explained that the Defense Ministry (MINDEF) and SAF would progressively take delivery of Hermes 900 (H900) UAVs.
“Through robust and thorough evaluations, the H900 UAV was assessed to best to meet the SAF’s operational needs. Singapore joins a list of countries around the world that operate this advanced system for military and civilian uses,” the post added.
Israel-Singapore relations
Singapore has had a long and complicated relationship with Israel. Although diplomatic relations between the two countries were formally established in 1968, Singapore has kept the connection profile low, in deference to its Muslim citizens and neighbors.
The Hermes 450 was the first armed drone manufactured by Elbit Systems for the IDF and it has been heavily used in combat. It can fly at a maximum altitude of 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) with a range of 300 kilometers, for up to 18 hours – or 30 hours with optional external fuel tanks. The medium-size multi-payload platform can operate with two payloads simultaneously and has manual or fully autonomous flight capabilities.
The more advanced Hermes 900 is Elbit Systems’ next-generation multi-role Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial system (UAS) and has double the power and capabilities of the Hermes 450.
With a flight altitude of more than 9,000 meters (30,000 ft.) and an endurance of 36 hours – along with flight capabilities for all weather conditions, the H900 has a wingspan of 15 m., is 8.3 m. long, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,100 kilograms, with a maximum payload weight of 300 kg.
The H900 can carry a wide range of intelligence-gathering payloads and is capable of performing missions for area dominance and persistent surveillance, target acquisition, and intelligence gathering. Equipped with satellite data links and electro-optical infrared sensors. It can provide various kinds of reconnaissance services to ground forces.
Since its first orders in 2011, the Hermes 900, a NATO Class III MALE UAV, has been selected by over 20 customers across four continents.