Israel Approves First UAS for Unrestricted Operations in Civil Airspace

Israel’s civil aviation authority (CAAI) has certified an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to operate in civilian airspace alongside other aircraft and without any restrictions on its use of unsegregated airspace. Elbit Systems says approval was granted this week for its Hermes Starliner UAS, with the Israeli regulator claiming this to be the first time an uncrewed aircraft has received a type certificate covering unrestricted operations in a national airspace system.

The move is part of a wider plan by the Israeli Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, of which CAAI is a part, to reform land and aerial transport regulations. The change could pave the way for wider use of autonomous aircraft, including eventually, new eVTOL models intended for freight and passenger services.

CAAI supervised the design and manufacturing of the Hermes Starliner in a six-year certification process that included extensive ground and flight testing in compliance with ICAO standards. The aircraft is a derivative of Elbit’s Hermes 900 medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS.

The Starliner is capable of flying for up to 36 hours at altitudes of 25,000 feet and with a payload of 3,520 pounds. The UAS has a wingspan of almost 56 feet and is designed to carry equipment such as electro-optical, thermal, and radar systems used for a variety of missions, such as surveillance and inspections.

Elbit adapted the Hermes 900 military aircraft to incorporate technologies needed to meet civil safety requirements. These include terrain avoidance warning systems, automatic takeoff and landing in impaired visibility conditions, redundant avionics, and satellite data links, as well as adverse weather capability and resistance to direct lightning strikes.

“CAAI is an active partner in the ICAO effort to update international regulations to accommodate remotely piloted aircraft in civil airspace, and this type certificate granted to the Hermes Startliner UAS aligns with this international activity,” said Joel Feldschuh, head of the CAAI. “This type 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, intensive flight tests, and thousands of documents.”

According to Elbit, both the Swiss Federal Department of Defence and the Canadian Ministry of Transportation have ordered unspecified numbers of the Starliner. The Israeli company has multiple other orders for the Hermes 900 UAS.

Switzerland ordered the aircraft in a $200 million deal signed in 2015 as part of their ADS15 program and this will include the first delivery of the Starliner. Canada placed an order in 2020 and will use the vehicle for environmental missions.