K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
The Transportation Ministry certified the Elbit defense contractor’s StarLiner drone to fly in civilian airspace, making Israel the first country in the world to allow unmanned aerial vehicles of this type to do so, the company said Wednesday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Israel issued its permit in late December after a more than six-year evaluation period, though the company only announced the regulation change on Wednesday.
“We are proud to issue the Type Certificate to the Hermes Starliner UAS, approving it to fly in civilian airspace as any other civil aircraft. As far as CAAI is aware, this is a world-first,” the head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, Joel Feldschuh, said in a statement issued by Elbit. UAS stands for unmanned aircraft system.
Most currently available UAVs lack the necessary sensors to operate in civilian airspace without interfering with other aircraft. As a result, many countries have laws forbidding powerful drones that reach high altitudes from flying in civilian airspace.
Elbit’s StarLiner drone is a modified version of its Hermes 900, which is used by militaries around the world, that was made to comply with civil aviation requirements by installing sensors to identify other aircraft and avoid collisions with them, an additional warning system to prevent it from approaching or crashing into the ground, autonomous takeoff and landing systems in no-visibility conditions, and other modifications.
Continue reading: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-becomes-1st-country-to-allow-large-high-flying-drones-in-civilian-airspace/
The Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Israel issued its permit in late December after a more than six-year evaluation period, though the company only announced the regulation change on Wednesday.
“We are proud to issue the Type Certificate to the Hermes Starliner UAS, approving it to fly in civilian airspace as any other civil aircraft. As far as CAAI is aware, this is a world-first,” the head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, Joel Feldschuh, said in a statement issued by Elbit. UAS stands for unmanned aircraft system.
Most currently available UAVs lack the necessary sensors to operate in civilian airspace without interfering with other aircraft. As a result, many countries have laws forbidding powerful drones that reach high altitudes from flying in civilian airspace.
Elbit’s StarLiner drone is a modified version of its Hermes 900, which is used by militaries around the world, that was made to comply with civil aviation requirements by installing sensors to identify other aircraft and avoid collisions with them, an additional warning system to prevent it from approaching or crashing into the ground, autonomous takeoff and landing systems in no-visibility conditions, and other modifications.
Continue reading: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-becomes-1st-country-to-allow-large-high-flying-drones-in-civilian-airspace/
