Originally Posted by
PANews
I reckon that for the Elbit
PR Department this has been a very good day at the office.
If nothing else this press release by NPAS and Elbit have caught the imagination of the media. The story, in many variations, has been in a very wide range of publications. Most write up the story as if it’s a done deal and due for introduction in a month or so and a site called PoliticsHome say that ‘Plans by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) to use Israeli military-grade drones to replace helicopters and aeroplanes have raised concerns among privacy campaigners.’ Then they contrast the mission profile of a DJI Mavic 2 with its 29 minute battery life and need to be in sight of the operator with the Hermes 900 that can fly for up to 36 hours at altitudes of 30,000 feet. Not quite the same mission profile or indeed a related threat to privacy! If the protest industry gets their hackles up this could be like a good meal with many repeats!
For Elbit I reckon they have got their name up in lights across a large swathe of the media for very little cost.
Agree with the sentiment. Elbit actually invested a considerable amount in making this happen, transporting the Hermes 900 from Israel to West Wales Airport and back together with its GCS and other support equipment needed quite a number of shipping containers. Added to that was the cost of securring CAA approval for Hermes 900 to fly in UK airspace and setting up the demonstration missions, UK consultants don't come cheap!
This could be a significant step towards routine operation of UAS (rather than toy drones) in UK airspace, just the detect and avoid system to certify.