The company AERTEC Solutions, an international engineering firm specialised in aeronautics and defence technologies, has undergone an operational evaluation on its TARSIS 75 RPAS under the Rapaz Programme (1). The tests were conducted on 3 and 4 October at the Conde de Gazola Army Base located in the province of León. The unit responsible for the operational evaluation was the Artillery Information and Localisation Group (GAIL – Grupo de Artillería de Información y Localización) II/63 belonging to the 63rd Campaign Rocket Artillery Launch Regiment.
The AERTEC Solutions TARSIS 75 RPAS has undergone an operational evaluation under the framework of the Spanish Ministry of Defence’s Rapaz Programme.
The performance features of the TARSIS 75, a Class 1 fixed-wing RPAS (SMALL) having a structure entirely made of carbon fibre, were demonstrated during the test flights. It has a maximum take-off weight of 74.5 Kg, a rated autonomy of 8 hours at a cruising speed of 100 km/h and can carry a payload of up to 12 kg in two places of the fuselage as well as on rigid underwing pods. These tests served to demonstrate some of its information gathering and surveillance functionalities, using sensors integrated into the aerial platform as part of the evaluation programme.
The complete system is comprised of the aerial platform, a ground control station equipped with two consoles (for the platform operator and the payload operator) and a ground communications station. It can be complemented with a catapult and a weather station. Given its size and take-off weight, it normally operates from a runway, though it can be launched from a catapult and recovered with a parachute in emergencies.
AERTEC Solutions’ TARSIS 75 RPAS is the largest and heaviest system that has successfully passed the Rapaz Programme’s operational evaluation to date, an initiative carried out by the Ministry of Defence’s Directorate-General of Weapons and Materials (DGAM). The project aims to assess Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) weighing less than 150 kg for future procurement by the armed forces.
AERTEC Solutions’ RPAS catalogue includes the TARSIS 75 and the TARSIS 25. Both systems have been developed and entirely produced by the international Spanish engineering firm, making them the only RPAS whose performance features were developed in Spain by a company whose share capital is 100% Spanish. AERTEC Solutions is the TARSIS System’s Design Authority. The system can therefore be quickly adapted to each user’s requirements by including the necessary payload to respond to the operator’s needs at any given moment.
(1) “Rapaz” means “Raptor” in English.
