THE Republic of Singapore’s Air Force (RSAF) selected Elbit System’s Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to replace the fleet’s Hermes 450 UAVs which have been in service for 20 years and are “becoming obsolete” as part of “the SAF2040 transformation”.

The Singaporean Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a social media post: “As part of the SAF2040 transformation, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)  will progressively take delivery of the Hermes 900 (H900) UAV to replace the Hermes 450 (H450) UAV, which has been in service for close to two decades and is becoming obsolete.

“Through robust and thorough evaluations, the H900 UAV was assessed to best meet the SAF’s operational needs. Singapore joins a list of countries around the world that operate this advanced system for military and civil uses.”

The H900 manufactured by Elbit Systems is a next-generation multi-role medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV that can operate at altitudes of more than 9,000m through all-weather conditions with an endurance duration of 36 hours.

With a maximum payload weight of 300kg, the H900 has double the power and capabilities of the H450. It can carry a wide range of payloads for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and is capable of performing missions for area dominance and persistent surveillance as well as target acquisition.  Equipped with satellite data links and electro-optical infrared sensors, the H900 is able to provide various kinds of reconnaissance services to ground forces.