Airbus prepares to begin work on the SiRTAP drone for the Spanish and Colombian air forces

The Spanish Airbus unit is ready to begin work on a new long-range unmanned aerial vehicle. It will be used for reconnaissance.

Here's What We Know

The drone will be created as part of the Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones (SiRTAP) programme. Spain began the project in 2015 and Colombia eventually joined in. The drone was previously known as Atlante 2 MALE.

The aim of the programme is to create an unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance, reconnaissance and reconnaissance. SiRTAP will replace the aging Israeli Searcher MkII and Hermes 450 drones, which are in service with the Spanish and Colombian air forces respectively. The developer of the former UAV is Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), while the latter was created by Elbit.

Spain is considering the purchase of 27 unmanned aerial systems. Each consists of three drones, a ground control station and communication equipment. The UAVs are now at the preliminary design stage. Airbus Spain says that if the contract is approved soon, deliveries will begin by 2026. Colombia intends to order six complexes, meaning 18 drones.

We wrote earlier that Spain intends to invest €500m ($542m) in the development and production of the new drones. The funding will be split into eight annual installments. 90% of the components for the UAVs will be manufactured in Spain.

SiRTAP will be able to stay in the air for more than 20 hours, flying at altitudes above 6.4km. The payload will have a maximum weight of 150 kg. The drone will have a foldable structure for transport by C-295 aircraft. According to Airbus Spain, one aircraft will be able to carry two drones.

Source: Defence News