Israel is putting its Hermes 450 UAV into service with the Israeli Air Force. This 1,100 pound aircraft carries a 330 pound payload and can stay in the air for up to 30 hours at a time. Cruising speed is 125 kilometers an hour and it can fly as high as 20,000 feet. The high performance is achieved by building the aircraft with lightweight composites. The Hermes can be controlled by a line-of-sight ground station, or via a satellite link. Equipment carried can include day and night cameras as well as thermal imagers and laser designators. The Hermes was designed for reconnaissance as well as real time targeting. The Hermes complements the Israeli Air Force's current Seeker II UAV (which has a ten hour endurance and carries a 110 pound payload.)