guardian.co.uk
Hermes 450 drone is workhorse for Israeli Defence Forces
A Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle deployed by the US Department ofHomeland Security. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Its ability to fly almost autonomously and carry a wide variety of payloads has made the Hermes 450 a workhorse of the Israeli Defence Forces for the past 10 years. The drone, nicknamed Zik, or spark, by the Israeli airforce is easily recognisable from its 10.5m-wide, ruler-shaped wings, tricycle-style undercarriage and V-shaped tails.
It can take off from short runways or be fired into the air from a ground-based catapult and, once airborne, can be set to fly a pre-programmed route, leaving operators to focus on information relayed back by its onboard cameras and sensors.
The imaging systems are housed in twin domes on the underside of the fuselage.
Daytime and infra-red night video are standard, giving controllers around the clock, real-time video feeds. Most carry a laser rangefinder, automatic target tracking systems and laser illumination systems, which can highlight a target with a spot of laser light.
The high-quality cameras are stabilised and vibrations that could blur images being sent back to base are minimised further by powering the drone with a smooth-running Wankel rotary engine.
The drones are made of lightweight composites, but still weigh 450kg on take-off.
A standard Hermes 450 can fly up to 124 miles from its base, a range set by their need to maintain a line-of-sight datalink to send images and other information back. Flight tests have been completed on more advanced versions that send data back via a satellite communications module mounted over the wing. By adding an extra fuel tank as part of its payload, maximum mission times can be extended from 20 to 30 hours.
While the drones can reach an altitude of 18,000ft , they usually cruise at around 70 knots at 16,000ft, dropping to 10,000 feet to obtain video footage and still images.
A version of the Hermes 450 called Watchkeeper is being developed for the British military.
In June 2004, the US department of homeland security, customs and border protection used Hermes 450s to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border. According to Jane's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets, the aircraft clocked up 480 hours and prevented 11 drug-smuggling attempts and more than 780 attempts to enter the US illegally.
But of the Hermes 450s' more than 65,000 accumulated hours of flying around the world, the majority have involved missions flown by the Israeli military from Palmachim airbase near Tel Aviv.
It can take off from short runways or be fired into the air from a ground-based catapult and, once airborne, can be set to fly a pre-programmed route, leaving operators to focus on information relayed back by its onboard cameras and sensors.
The imaging systems are housed in twin domes on the underside of the fuselage.
Daytime and infra-red night video are standard, giving controllers around the clock, real-time video feeds. Most carry a laser rangefinder, automatic target tracking systems and laser illumination systems, which can highlight a target with a spot of laser light.
The high-quality cameras are stabilised and vibrations that could blur images being sent back to base are minimised further by powering the drone with a smooth-running Wankel rotary engine.
The drones are made of lightweight composites, but still weigh 450kg on take-off.
A standard Hermes 450 can fly up to 124 miles from its base, a range set by their need to maintain a line-of-sight datalink to send images and other information back. Flight tests have been completed on more advanced versions that send data back via a satellite communications module mounted over the wing. By adding an extra fuel tank as part of its payload, maximum mission times can be extended from 20 to 30 hours.
While the drones can reach an altitude of 18,000ft , they usually cruise at around 70 knots at 16,000ft, dropping to 10,000 feet to obtain video footage and still images.
A version of the Hermes 450 called Watchkeeper is being developed for the British military.
In June 2004, the US department of homeland security, customs and border protection used Hermes 450s to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border. According to Jane's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets, the aircraft clocked up 480 hours and prevented 11 drug-smuggling attempts and more than 780 attempts to enter the US illegally.
But of the Hermes 450s' more than 65,000 accumulated hours of flying around the world, the majority have involved missions flown by the Israeli military from Palmachim airbase near Tel Aviv.
هیچ نظری موجود نیست:
ارسال یک نظر