Direct proof of use
The Hermes 900 is directly documented in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict through both physical-evidence reporting and operator-linked accounts. OSMP documented a Mikholit munition in Isfahan Province, Iran, on June 18, 2025, and its analyst note identified the munition as ejected from the weapons pod of an Israeli Hermes 900 drone downed in Iran.
Elbit Systems separately described Operation Rising Lion as involving Hermes 900/Kochav aircraft operating deep inside Iranian territory for persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, real-time target acquisition, and missile-launcher engagement support. The Jerusalem Post later reported an Elbit executive's statement that Hermes 900 drones helped locate concealed Iranian ballistic-missile launchers during the June war.
Sources: OSMP1428 Hermes 900 Mikholit Recovery, Elbit Operation Rising Lion Hermes 900, Jerusalem Post Hermes 900 in Iran Conflict
Timeline
The conflict opened on June 13, 2025, when Israel launched a major operation against Iran and Iran retaliated with ballistic-missile attacks on Israel. Within that campaign, Elbit's post-operation account placed Hermes 900 aircraft in Iranian airspace supporting Israeli situational awareness and target acquisition.
On June 18, OSMP recorded a Mikholit air-delivered bomb in Isfahan Province and connected it to the weapons pod of a downed Israeli Hermes 900. Later reporting in November 2025 attributed more detailed mission effects to the system, including the location of concealed Iranian ballistic-missile launchers and assistance against mobile air-defense systems, radar installations, and ammunition facilities.
Sources: CRS Israel-Iran Conflict, OSMP1428 Hermes 900 Mikholit Recovery, Elbit Operation Rising Lion Hermes 900, Jerusalem Post Hermes 900 in Iran Conflict
Operational role
The sourced conflict role was Israeli long-range unmanned reconnaissance, targeting support, and strike support rather than transfer or possession alone. Elbit's account emphasized persistent ISR and real-time target acquisition over Iran; the Jerusalem Post report tied the Hermes 900 specifically to locating concealed ballistic-missile launchers and helping strike mobile air defenses, radar installations, and ammunition facilities.
The OSMP entry adds a separate physical-evidence lane: a recovered Mikholit linked to a downed Israeli Hermes 900 weapons pod in Iran. That evidence supports armed employment of a Hermes 900 in the conflict, while Elbit's public specifications explain why the platform is suited to persistent multi-payload missions with over-the-horizon operation, EO/IR and radar payloads, and multiple hard points.
Sources: Elbit Operation Rising Lion Hermes 900, Jerusalem Post Hermes 900 in Iran Conflict, OSMP1428 Hermes 900 Mikholit Recovery, Elbit Hermes 900
Munitions and related systems
Public sources do not provide a complete loadout for every Hermes 900 mission in Iran. The clearest munition-specific evidence is OSMP's June 18 record, which identifies a Mikholit associated with a downed Hermes 900 and describes two weapons pods, each capable of carrying four Mikholit bombs.
Hermes 450/Zik and Mikholit are therefore related entries for this conflict, but they document different parts of the unmanned-aircraft and munition picture. The Hermes 900 page rests on the sources that name the Kochav/Hermes 900 or connect recovered munitions directly to that aircraft.
Sources: OSMP1428 Hermes 900 Mikholit Recovery, Elbit Operation Rising Lion Hermes 900
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