Israeli defense firm to provide Brazil with military drones

Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems will provide the the Brazilian Air Force with advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

These are the medium-altitude long-endurance Hermes 900 aircraft, which have a massive payload carrying capacity of 350 kg.

Hermes 900 can perform various missions for area dominance and persistent ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance).

It can also be utilized for ground support and maritime patrol missions, as well as for integrated multi-platform and multi-sensor operations.

Mission management is performed autonomously via the Hermes ground control system, which enables the drone to perform two concurrent missions.

The statement did not disclose sums, only saying "the contract is in an amount that is not material to Elbit Systems."

Over the past decade, the the Brazilian Air Force has already been operating a mixed fleet of Elbit's Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 UAVs to perform various missions including homeland security and deforestation monitoring operations in the Amazons.

The Hermes 900 has been selected to date by 12 countries, Elbit noted. Enditem