As the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority (CAAI, under the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety) announced in a press release a few days ago, the authority, together with the manufacturer Elbit Systems has apparently reached a milestone. For the first time ever, the civil aviation authority of a country has certified an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for civil aviation. This means that the model has been granted permission to fly in civil airspace like any other civil aircraft.
This is another part of the intention of the relevant Israeli authorities to adapt the regulations for land and air transportation. This is an innovative approach and a response to the challenges and opportunities presented by technological developments in Israel and worldwide. Having received type certification from the CAAI, Elbit Systems’ Hermes Starliner UAS (known as Kochav/Stern in the Israeli Air Force) meets NATO standards for the certification of UAS for integration into civil airspace. For safety reasons, international aviation regulations (so far) prohibit the flight of non-certified aircraft in civil airspace, so that the operation of UAS was previously restricted to restricted airspace. The certification of the Starliner by the CAAI changes this. The CAAI oversaw the development and manufacture of the unmanned and remotely piloted device and led a rigorous six-year certification process that included extensive ground and flight testing. The tests were conducted in accordance with the Air Navigation Rules, the Essential Requirements for Airworthiness and, most importantly, the aviation standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The head of CAAI, Joel Feldschuh, says: “We are proud to grant the Hermes Starliner UAS the type certificate that allows it to fly in civil airspace like any other civil aircraft. As far as the CAAI is aware, this is a world first. CAAI is an active partner in ICAO’s efforts to update international regulations to allow remotely piloted aircraft systems in civil airspace and the type certification for the Starliner UAS is in line with this international activity. This type certificate is the result of a fundamental process that we have led for six years, involving thousands of hours of work, dozens of audits, laboratory tests, ground tests, intensive flight tests and thousands of documents.” With a wingspan of 17 meters and a weight of 1.6 tons, Elbit’s UAS is capable of flying continuously for up to 36 hours at altitudes of up to 25,000 feet and carrying an additional 450 kilograms of electro-optical, thermal, radar and other payloads. According to Elbit, the renowned manufacturer and drone pioneer was awarded the contract to supply the Hermes Starliner UAS by the Swiss Department of Defense (six units as ADS-15 with HFE diesel engine for almost 250 million euros) and the Canadian Ministry of Transport (one unit for environmental monitoring for 25 million euros), as well as a dozen other countries. a dozen other countries for the delivery of other variants of the Hermes UAS series. The certification of a UAS to fly over populated areas and in any civil airspace enables governments and international commercial organizations to use large unmanned aircraft with long flight endurance for missions that previously could only be performed by manned aircraft. Starliner will be able to participate in border security and counter-terrorism operations, help secure major public events, conduct search and rescue missions at sea, perform commercial aviation and environmental inspection tasks, and carry out precision agricultural work.
The Starliner UAS is the result of a further development of the already technologically mature Hermes 900 UAS, integrating advanced civil aviation technologies to meet certification standards. These technologies include a terrain avoidance warning system, automatic take-off and landing in low visibility, redundant avionics, sensors and satellite data links, as well as capabilities to cope with adverse weather conditions and protection from direct lightning strikes. Yoram Shmuely, Managing Director of Elbit Systems Aerospace, said on the occasion of the certification: “We are very pleased with this international breakthrough, which underpins our leadership position in the UAS market. The ability to integrate UAS into civil airspace now enables governments and international commercial organizations to leverage the unique capabilities of advanced UAS in their pursuit of significantly improved safety and environmental protection.”
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