Hermes 900's life-saving move is drop in the ocean

摘要

A LIFE-SAVING addition to the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 type enables it to drop life rafts during long-range SAR (search and rescue) operations. An undisclosed Southeast Asian customer has been the first to receive the maritime patrol variant of the aircraft with the new feature. Elbit stated: "Adverse weather conditions and short endurance significantly degrade the search and rescue capabilities of manned aircraft, often preventing them from executing their missions." The life-raft equipment, combined with the aircraft's 24-hour endurance, "can increase the number of SAR missions that can be safely executed" to substantially improve the response's effectiveness. In the maritime patrol configuration, the Hermes 900 can carry a maximum of four six-person life rafts mounted on its wings. Elbit explained that, after detecting survivors using the onboard radar and undertaking visual identification through its electro-optical/ infrared payload, "a rapid calculation of the drop-point is performed." It then drops the life rafts from 600ft to a pinpointed location at a safe distance from the survivors. The life rafts gradually inflate after dispatch.