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AERTEC Solutions will develop the prototype of an onboard laser emitting unit for use on RPAS

AERTEC

AERTEC

AERTEC

 

AERTEC Solutions, the international engineering firm specialised in aeronautics and defence, has just been awarded a contract with the European Defence Agency (EDA) to develop a prototype laser emitting unit to be used on unmanned aerial vehicles. Under a project known as “Study on Critical Components for Military Lasers and Advantages and Use of Wide Area Sensor Technologies on UAV”, the Spanish engineering company will work on this kind of still incipient technology, which has hardly been developed in Europe, in conjunction with the Ultra‑Intense Pulsed Laser Centre (Centro de Láseres Pulsados Ultraintensos – CLPU), an organisation dedicated to researching and developing ultra-intense pulsed laser technology. The CLPU is managed by a public consortium comprised of the Spanish Government’s Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, the Castilla y León Regional Authority and the University of Salamanca.

AERTEC Solutions will develop a miniature countermeasure system prototype that will include a near infrared laser emitting unit similar to a thermal imaging camera. The unit’s feasibility for its future use on unmanned aircraft will be studied by the European Defence Agency with a view to increasing the capabilities of these kinds of aircraft. The international Spanish engineering firm will apply its know-how on optics, electric power, laser signal generation and onboard electronics to this conceptual development.

The project’s kick-off meeting was held on 21 November and it is slated to last 12 months. Before this period comes to an end, the development will have to pass some test flights. AERTEC Solutions will make use of its TARSIS 75 light tactical RPAS, a versatile high-performance solution designed by the company for observation and surveillance applications, for these test flights.

This contract with the European Defence Agency will inject new impetus to AERTEC Solutions’ Aerospace and Defence Systems area, one of the company’s business lines which is expected to grow most in the coming years. This area has its own centre measuring 1,500 square metres at the Aerópolis Aeronautics Technology Park in Seville, which is fully equipped with real-time development environments to carry out the design, implementation and validation of both prototypes and limited series products.

 

 

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