The Hermes 900 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) designed and built by Elbit Systems, made its first flight December 9, 2009 in the northern Negev desert. Unlike other Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV systems, such as the MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and Heron I, the Hermes 900 can be operated as part of existing, tactical UAV units currently operating the smaller Hermes 450, dramatically extending mission endurance, payload capacity and operational capabilities, without fielding additional infrastructure and support.
