Israel The Hermes 900 was first used by Israel during
Operation Protective Edge in July 2014. It had been undergoing test flights and wasn't planned for operational deployment until late 2015, but it was introduced during the operation for unique missions that it could perform better than the
Hermes 450. A few days after receiving orders to deploy the aircraft, one Kochav was readied for "temporary activity." The Hermes 900's first operational mission took place on July 15, 2014 during Israel's war in Gaza, in which a chain of operations and jet attacks destroyed Palestinian infrastructure. Maintenance on the aircraft during the operation was done by Elbit personnel because IAF ground teams had not yet been qualified to perform maintenance on it, and mission stations had Elbit representatives that guided the operators during combat flights. Following the end of the operation, the Hermes 900 returned to integration and flight testing to pass milestones that still needed to be met. The Hermes 900 was officially introduced into the IAF's operational lineup on 11 November 2015. On 6 April 2024,
amid border tension during the
Gaza war Hezbollah shot down a Hermes 900 with a surface-to-air missile in the south of Lebanon. Another was shot down on 1 June 2024. Another unit was lost on 29 October 2024, when Hezbollah shot down a Hermes 900 on Marjayoun. During the
Twelve-Day War, on 18 June 2025, a Hermes 900 serial
997, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in
Isfahan, central Iran. Another two were shot down on 23 June 2025, one in Khorramabad area, western Iran, with Israeli officials acknowledged the loss. And another was shot down in Arak, Markazi Province Iran. Iranian media showed wreckage of the drone with the serial
939.
Azerbaijan Azerbaijani media first mentioned the procurement of the Hermes 900 in August 2017, reporting up to 15 units having been purchased. In May 2018, the Azerbaijani government confirmed the purchase, releasing photos of Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev inspecting one of the drones. During the
2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani skirmishes, Armenia's Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan reported that Armenian forces had shot down an Azerbaijani Hermes 900 drone, sharing the video of the alleged shoot down on social media. The Azerbaijani side denied losing any of its drones.
Brazil During the
2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods, the
Brazilian Air Force used Hermes 900 drones to help locate flood victims that required rescue. A drone located 36 flood victims between 5–6 May, enabling their rescue by lasing their positions to
SAR helicopters. One drone crashed due to a "technical problem", pending investigation by
CENIPA. A replacement Hermes 900 was bought in September 2024.
India On 14 January 2025, a '
Drishti-10 Starliner''''' drone manufactured by
Adani Defence & Aerospace crashed off the
Gujarat coast near
Porbandar. It was the second drone that had been delivered to the
Indian Navy on 4 December 2024 and was undergoing pre-acceptance trials before induction by the
original equipment manufacturer. The drone, worth , was not a financial loss for the Navy as it had not been inducted yet. The drone was ditched into water while conducting an
emergency landing. The airframe has been recovered and investigation is underway. In February 2025, it was reported that the crashed drone would be replaced by the manufacturer within 6 months. During the trials the drone faced frequent SATCOM deconnection which could be a reason for the crash. This malfunction also disables some of the stated capability of the UAV. The Drone delivered to the Army also faced technical problems and is currently grounded. Reports in January 2026 indicated that the Indian Navy intends to induct 10 Starliner drones. The first and only active drone was already flying
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The drones will support
anti-submarine warfare, over-the-horizon targeting as well as
search and rescue missions, reducing dependence on manned
maritime patrol aircraft. ==Operators==