First-Ever License for Drones in Civilian Airspace

Israel has become the first country in the world to issue a license for the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in civilian airspace.

The Transportation Ministry certified Elbit’s StarLiner drone after six-year evaluation period for safety, a milestone that will help pave the way for unmanned flight in other countries as well.

“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.

The StarLiner is a modified version of its Hermes 900, which is used by militaries around the world, that was converted to meet civil aviation requirements by installing sensors to identify other aircraft to avoid collisions, 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.

The lack of such sensors have until now kept UAVs from qualifying for civilian airspace.

Now that the technology has its first approval to fly in populated areas, the potential applications are vast: it allows governments and organizations to use the drones in border security, anti-terror operations, securing mass public events, maritime search and rescue, agricultural work, environmental inspection missions and more.

As for the immediate future of Elbit’s drone, it was not clear if any Israeli non-military government offices had purchased it, and an Elbit spokesperson did not comment on the matter.

Abroad, the StarLiner is being sold to Switzerland, and the Canadian Ministry of Transportation is on the list too.