Elbit Systems [ESLT] was awarded a $200 million contract to provide Hermes 900 Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) for use in the Air Force, the company said Thursday.

The contract is to be performed over a period of four years and follows the DDPS June 2014 announcement of Elbit as the preferred supplier for the UAS 15 new reconnaissance drone program, the company said. This contract also includes an advanced ground segment for command, control and communications.

Hermes 900 at sunset Photo: Elbit
Hermes 900 at sunset
Photo: Elbit

The Hermes 900 HFE system is an advanced adverse-weather unarmed reconnaissance UAS that offers improved operational capabilities, Elbit said.

“Switzerland is a very important market for Elbit Systems, and we are very proud of the DDPS’ decision to choose us as the supplier of the Hermes 900 HFE, a high-end and market leading platform, Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, president and CEO of Elbit Systems, said in a statement.

“The DDPS selection attests to our innovative and technological leadership in the area of UAS, supported by the maturity of our systems. We hope this project will pave the way for additional projects both in Switzerland and worldwide,” Machlis added.