[SatNews] Elbit Systems claims to have successfully flight-tested its Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicles from one ground control station, greatly enhancing the operational flexibility of the long-range drones amid a growing global market for the aircraft.

The tests underlined how Israel's high-tech defense industry is developing a wide range of unmanned robot systems for air, land and sea. These include Nahshson, a remote-controlled land vehicle that can carry two tons of cargo. This is an advanced variant of the Guardium robot vehicle developed by G-NIUS Unmanned Ground Systems, a joint venture by Elbit and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The Guardium has been in operated by the Israeli military since 2008. Elbit said the Hermes tests were conducted from the company's new universal ground control station using a single operator for both UAVs. The Hermes 450 is a tactical long-endurance UAV that is the backbone of the Israeli air force's drone fleet, with more than 200,000 operational flight hours.