BAE Systems HERTI

The BAE Systems HERTI, short for High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion, is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the British company BAE Systems at Warton in the United Kingdom. Its airframe is based on the J-6 Fregata motor glider designed by Jaroslaw Janowski of J&AS Aero Design in Poland. It first flew in December 2004 at the Woomera test range in Australia, and it was the first unmanned aircraft to fly in the United Kingdom with certification from the Civil Aviation Authority. The first vehicles had a maximum takeoff weight of 450 kilograms and carried a payload of about 150 kilograms, with a production endurance of up to 20 hours. A HERTI was deployed to Afghanistan under Project Morrigan, an armed version called Fury was announced in 2008, and later variants include the HERTI-1A, HERTI-1B and the civil-certification HERTI-OC.