Hermes 900 Starliner

About Hermes 900 Starliner

• It is an Israeli-made medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• It is the larger variant of the Hermes 900.
• Features:
  • It has a wing span of 17m and a maximum take-off weight of 1,600kg. 
  • The aircraft has a service ceiling of 30,000ft and offers a flight endurance of up to 36 hours.
  • The aircraft’s automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) capability allows it to take-off and land in near-zero visibility environments. 
  • An active de-icing system is installed for removing ice from surfaces to ensure safe operation in icing conditions.
  • It can carry a range of multi-sensor payloads weighing up to 450kg for multiple applications. 
  • The onboard imaging sensors capture real-time imagery/video and provide wide-area persistent surveillance during both the day and night.
  • It is equipped with a terrain avoidance warning system (TAWS) for terrain prediction and obstacle avoidance.
  • It is equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar, and maritime patrol radar to detect, locate and acquire targets. 
  • It can also carry electronic warfare payloads to provide airborne electronic attack capability.

Q1) What is a radar?

Radar, short for “Radio Detection and Ranging,” is a technology that uses radio waves to detect, locate, track, and identify objects in the surrounding environment. It is widely used in various fields, including aviation, military, meteorology, navigation, and more. Radar systems operate by emitting radio waves and then detecting the reflected signals, allowing them to determine the distance, speed, direction, and other characteristics of objects.

Source: `India set to boost surveillance capabilities with Israeli Hermes 900 Starliners drones