AERTEC is going to develop three RPAS (Remote Piloted Aircraft System) class I SMALL (less than 150 kg MTOW) systems of its TARSIS ISTAR model for integration and validation of new functionalities and payloads developed by the Directorate General for Armaments and Material (DGAM). This is a contract whereby AERTEC will collaborate with the Sub-Directorate General for Planning, Technology and Innovation (SDG PLATIN), which is responsible within the Ministry of Defence for proposing and directing research and development plans and programmes for systems and equipment of interest to national defence.
The TARSIS-ISTAR is a high-end, tactical and compact Class I UAS that enables multiple configurations and is highly adaptable to demanding operating environments.
Within the TARSIS family, the unmanned aerial system to be developed by AERTEC within the framework of this contract is the company's ISTAR model (intelligence, surveillance, target location and reconnaissance)a high-end, tactical and compact 95 kg class I UAS, offering a high payload integration capability (< 12 kg) and long flight endurance (< 12 hours), features that allow for multiple configurations and adaptability to demanding operating environments.
TARSIS solutions are equipped with ATOL (Automatic Take Off and Landing) technology, an automated control system for all phases of flight. They can also integrate multiple other options: backup satellite link, emergency recovery with parachute, spectral sensors, topographic sensors, etc.
The systems to be developed by AERTEC include aerial platforms and different ground control stations. "The new payloads will be used to integrate a series of payloads developed by the national industry. These new payloads will make it possible to achieve new functionalities such as the integration of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and TACAN-type radio aid calibration. In general, the TARSIS systems will serve to perform demonstrations and evaluations of functionalities in the field of DGAM R&D and PLATINboth within the RAPAZ programme and in other programmes developed by the Ministry of Defence," says Pedro Becerra, Aerospace & Defence Corporate Director at Aertec.
The Spanish Ministry of Defence launched the Rapaz Project in 2016. con el objetivo de evaluar propuestas de Sistemas Aéreos Pilotados de Forma Remota de menos de 150 kg para futuras adquisiciones de las Fuerzas Armadas. En estas evaluaciones operativas ha ido participando el UAS TARSIS de Aertec, que ha completado con éxito desde entonces un elevado número de campañas en el marco de este programa, demostrando las altas prestaciones tecnológicas de esta plataforma aérea no tripulada a diversos grupos de usuarios finales.
In the words of Pedro Becerra, Director of AERTEC's Aerospace Systems Division, "with the acquisition of the TARSIS-ISTAR, the functionalities for Class I RPAS can be developed and tested with real operations and mature equipment, and the requirements and needs of our Armed Forces can be fine-tuned. Among these functionalities are the detection, tracking and simulation of targets, calibration of airbase radio aids, integration of communications systems, evaluation of technological aspects of weapons integration and advanced training in unmanned RPAS aviation".
IMPORTANT NOTE: References to texts and graphic content relating to the TARSIS solution are merely reviews of the historical trajectory of projects carried out by AERTEC in the past. Currently, TARSIS is not a product owned by AERTEC, nor does AERTEC conduct business as an OEM.
