Royal Thai Navy to Buy Seven Hermes 900

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Royal Thai Navy to Buy Seven Hermes 900​

The Royal Thai Navy will sign a contract to procure seven Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth over 4 billion baht.
Vice Adm Pokkrong Monthatphalin, navy spokesman, revealed that the navy had chosen seven Hermes 900 UAVs from Elbit Systems, an international defence electronics firm based in Israel. The firm offered the non-tariff price of US$120 million or approximately 4 billion baht.

Vice Admiral Pokkrong Monthatphalin
The contract signing will take place at the Bang Chang naval air base in Rayong.
The procurement contract will be drafted by a committee before being presented to the commander-in-chief Adm Somprasong Nilsamai. The navy, Elbit Systems Ltd and the National Anti-Corruption Commission will be the three signatories to the procurement contract, Vice Adm Pokkrong said.
He also added that the navy will equip the aircraft with advanced defence technology to improve its ability to protect the country’s sovereignty and maritime territory.
Five companies, one each from Turkey, China and the United States and two from Israel joined the RTN’s bid. The suppliers from China and Turkey proposed three UAVs, while Elbit Systems proposed seven and the other Israeli company, IAI, proposed five. The US bidder failed the screening test.
The Royal Thai Army, currently, has four Hermes 450 drones, stationed at the Army Aviation Centre in Lop Buri province.
Earlier, two opposition Pheu Thai MPs Yutthapong Charassathien and Anudit Nakorntap accused the RTN of not being transparent in the procurement of the drones when they changed from Chinese-made, Wing Loong, to favour the Israeli-made drones and that the Hermes 900 have not been deployed by the navy of any country and has a bad reputation for crashing.
The Hermes 900 UAV boasts a range of high-performance sensors, allowing it to detect ground or maritime targets over a wide spectral range. It can be operated for up to 36 hours and the service ceiling is 30,000 feet (9,144 metres).
The UAVs will be equipped with hardware and software defence technology which are applicable for prospective attack missions, said a navy source.

Royal Thai Navy to Buy Seven Hermes 900 | UAS VISION

The Royal Thai Navy will sign a contract to procure seven Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth over 4 billion baht. Vice Adm Pokkrong Monthatphalin, navy spokesman, revealed that the navy had chosen seven Hermes 900 UAVs from Elbit Systems, an international defence electronics firm...

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Thailand selects Elbit Systems Hermes 900 for maritime surveillance UAV requirement​

JULY 05, 2022
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An example of a Hermes 900 Kochav UAV from Elbit Systems.

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has selected the offer from Israel’s Elbit Systems, winning an international tender to supply maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The winning bid was approved by the Thai Ministry of Defence (MoD) Permanent Secretary General Warakiat Rattanonont, and a formal contract with Elbit Systems is expected to be signed within 30 days.

The UAVs will be used by the RTN for maritime surveillance, over-the-horizon targeting, search and rescue, and other maritime missions.


Elbit Systems offered the Hermes 900 Kochav medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial system (MALE UAS), and competed against fellow Israel-based defense company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and three other companies from Turkey, China and the United States.

With the RTN’s budget of THB 4 billion (US$120 million), Elbit Systems reportedly proposed to deliver 7 UAVs, while IAI proposed 5. Both the offers from Turkey and China proposed 3 UAVs, while the proponent from the United States failed the screening test.

The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 UAV has a length of 8.3 meters, a wingspan of 15 meters, a gross weight of 1,100 kilograms, and is powered by a Rotax 914 piston engine capable of providing the UAV with a cruise speed of 70 miles per hour, a maximum speed of up to 140 miles per hour, and an endurance of up to 36 hours with a maximum service ceiling of 9,100 meters.

It can carry different payloads up to 300 kilograms in total, which includes surveillance cameras, sensors and search and rescue packages.

The Hermes 900 Kochav UAV is considered as the successor to the smaller Hermes 450, in which the Royal Thai Army has 4 UAVs in service with the 21st Aviation Battalion.

Within Southeast Asia, the only other user of the type is the Philippine Air Force, which purchased 9 units in 2017.

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