Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary EFW Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a contract to operate its Hermes 450 Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) system in support of the office of the US Secretary of Defense (OSD), Director of Test and Evaluation, Joint UAV Joint Test and Evaluation (JUAV-JT&E), at NAS Fallon, Nevada.
The contract was awarded by SENTEL Corporation and the flight services will be performed jointly by Elbit Systems' subsidiaries EFW and Silver Arrow, at several US locations including NAS Fallon.
The contract was awarded after rigorous validation flights demonstrating the Hermes 450's capabilities and versatility. The Hermes 450 will provide a reliable turnkey system for seamless integration of UAVs with other operational military elements. The effort will encompass operations with forces from all four US services.
As of early July 2003, the system had already conducted more than a dozen highly successful missions in support of US Navy carrier air wing training and JUAV test and evaluation exercises.
The Hermes 450 is an upper range tactical UAV system with advanced composite structure and optimized aerodynamics. Advanced avionics enable autonomous flight and precise GPS navigation. Fully redundant systems significantly increase reliability. Target detection and recognition are performed by gimbaled, electro-optical, state-of-the-art payloads.
The UAV is equipped with sophisticated communication systems transferring imagery in real time to ground control stations. The Hermes 450 maximum payload weight is 150Kg., its operational altitude is 18,000 feet and the maximum endurance is 20 hours.
Based in Fort Worth, EFW Inc., is an established defense electronics supplier specializing in sophisticated hardware and software solutions for upgrade, integration and sustainment programs. EFW provides systems for various weapon platforms for U.S. and allied military forces.
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international electronics company engaged in a wide range of defense-related programs throughout the world, in the areas of aerospace, ground and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I), advanced electro-optic and space technologies. The Company focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms and developing new technologies for defense and homeland security applications. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
