Iceland is the first European country to use Hermes 900 UAS maritime patrol services.

Iceland recently became the first European country to use Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) maritime patrol services, particularly adapted to withstand the strong winds and icy conditions common to the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Hermes-900 UAS made by Elbit Systems (Picture Source: Elbit Systems)

Elbit Systems won the contract to provide the services to the country from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and Portugal's CEiiA, the company said in a statement on Tuesday June 18.

The Icelandic maritime authorities based the Hermes 900 Maritime Patrol operation at the Egilsstaðir airport in the East of the island, from which maritime UAS patrol has the capability of covering more than half of the Icelandic Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The Hermes 900 Maritime Patrol is a persistent long-range unmanned maritime surveillance system tailored for littoral and blue water operations, featuring maritime radar, an Electro-Optic (EO) payload, Satellite Communication, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver and an Emergency Position-indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) receiver.