Elbit to cover costs of replacement Hermes 900 for Switzerland

Elbit Systems will cover the cost for Switzerland of replacing a Hermes 900 Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crashed during pre-delivery trials in Israel in 2020, the Swiss government announced on 11 May.

An Elbit Systems Hermes 900 HFE UAV in Swiss markings. A UAV destined for Switzerland crashed in Israel during a test flight in 2020, for which Elbit will pick up the cost. (Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sport)

The Israeli-built medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV crashed on 5 August 2020 after the tail section separated from the fuselage due to excessive vibration, causing a total loss of control of the aircraft.

“The cause of this problem [will] be [up to] the Israeli manufacturing company Elbit Systems [to] fix, in view of the continued production of the drone without changing the design of the drone. The damage is entirely at the expense of Elbit Systems,” the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sport (VBS-DDPS) said in a statement.

Elbit Systems was awarded a contract worth approximately USD200 million by the Swiss government for the procurement of its Hermes 900 UAV in November 2015. The ‘ADS-15’ requirement contract placed by the VBS-DDPS covered six Hermes 900 UAVs and a ground-control station, although the wider requirement is for 15 such vehicles to be used for border surveillance and disaster relief.