Israel Is The First Country To Approve Drones In Civilian Airspace

Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety has officially approved the certification of an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) in civilian airspace for the first time ever. It becomes the first country in the world to do so, Israeli aerospace and defense company Elbit announced last week.

The certification was issued by The Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Israel (CAAI) for the Hermes Starliner UAS, a vehicle developed and manufactured by Elbit Systems. The CAAI issued the permit in late December following a six-year evaluation process, featuring extensive ground and flight tests. The news was announced by Elbit last Wednesday.

“We are proud to issue the Type Certificate to the Hermes Starliner UAS, approving it to fly in civilian airspace as any other civil aircraft. As far as CAAI is aware, this is a world first,” Joel Feldschuh, head of the CAAI, said in the announcement.

This certificate “is the result of a fundamental process that we led for six years that included thousands of man hours, dozens of audits, laboratory tests, ground tests, intensive flight tests and thousands of documents”, added Feldschuh. 

The receipt of this certification completes UAS compliance with NATO standardization for approval to fly in civilian airspace.

For safety reasons, international aviation regulations prohibit uncertified aircraft from flying in civilian airspace to avoid interference with other aircraft. This has limited the operation of UAS’ to unsegregated airspace – until now. 

The Hermes Starliner UAS is a derivative of the Hermes 900 UAS, a drone used by militaries around the world that was modified to meet certain certification standards in order to comply with civil aviation requirements. These technologies include a terrain avoidance warning system, sensor and satellite data links, adverse weather capabilities, and more.

Following the approval of the certification, the Starliner will be able to fly in civilian airspace like any other civilian airliner. It will not remain restricted to non-segregated airspace. This enables governments as well as international and commercial organizations to incorporate large, long-endurance unmanned aircraft missions that until now could only be performed by manned aircraft. If organizations used unmanned aircraft, skies would have to be cleared.

That means the Starliner will now be able to participate in border security and anti-terror operations as well as take part i securing public events, performing maritime search and rescue, and performing commercial aviation, environmental inspection missions and precision agriculture work.

“CAAI is an active partner in the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) effort to update international regulations to accommodate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems in civil airspace, and this Type Certificate granted to the Hermes Starliner UAS aligns with this international activity.

The Hermes Starliner UAS built by Elbit Systems has a wingspan of 17 meters and weighs 1.6 tons. It is capable of up to 36 hours of continuous flight at an altitude of up to 25,000 ft. and can carry an additional 450 kg of electro-optical, thermal, radar, and other payloads. 

Around the world

Switzerland was supposed to have been the first country to purchase drones developed by Elbit. The Israeli company was first contracted by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence in 2015, when the Swiss army ordered six Hermes 900-type drones in 2015 at a cost of around $256 million at the time, according to SWI swissinfo.ch, the international unit of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC).

Then, in August 2020, a Hermes 900 HFE drone intended for the Swiss army crashed in the Israeli desert during a test. The crash further delayed the commission of new reconnaissance drones originally scheduled for late 2019.

Elbit concluded its investigation into the crash last year. In May, Elbit reported that they had rectified the structural problem that had caused the tail unit to become detached from the drone’s body. The Israeli company has since postponed the competition of the sale and the Swiss army is only likely to receive the drones in mid-2022, three year after the initial delivery date, The Times of Israel reported.

To date, Elbit Systems has been also been contracted by the Canadian Ministry of Transportation to supply the Hermes Starliner UAS as well as by a dozen additional countries to provide other variants of the Hermes 900 UAS. Last month, Elbit announced that its Brazilian subsidiary, AEL Sistemas S.A. was awarded a contract to supply additional Hermes 900 UAS to the Brazilian Air Force

“I am proud that Israel has become the first country which allows UAVs to operate for the benefit of agriculture, environment, the fight against crime, for the people and the economy,” said Israeli Transportation and Road Safety Minister and Labor leader MK Merav Michaeli after her office certified the drone.

Calling it an “international breakthrough,” Yoram Shmuely, general manager of Elbit Systems said the certification solidified the company’s leadership in the UAS market.

“The capability to integrate UAS in civilian airspace now enables governments as well as international and commercial organizations to leverage the unique capabilities of a sophisticated UAS in their pursuit of significantly improved security and environmental protection,” he said.

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