AERTEC ha estado presente en el acto de inauguración, en Moguer (Huelva), del Centro de ensayo e investigación de Aviones No Tripulados -conocido como CEUS-, donde ha expuesto para la ocasión las plataformas aéreas de ala fija de mayor tamaño, TARSIS ISTAR y TARSIS-W. AERTEC, que desde su división de Aeropuertos también ha estado involucrada en el diseño del campo de vuelo del CEUS desde los orígenes del proyecto, se suma al interés mostrado por otras grandes empresas para el uso futuro de sus instalaciones.
La inauguración ha contado con la presencia del Presidente del Gobierno de España, el Presidente de la Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, la Ministra de Defensa, Margarita Robles, la Secretaria de Estado de Defensa, Amparo Valcarce, y el director del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), el Teniente General Julio Ayuso, así como otras autoridades civiles y militares y responsables del INTA y del CEDEA. AERTEC ha estado representada en este acto por su CEO y fundador, Antonio Gómez-Guillamón, que ha asistido acompañado de Pedro Becerra, Director General de la División de Sistemas Aeroespaciales y Defensa, y Rafael Márquez, Director de Operaciones.
The CEUS project is part of the CEDEA - Arenosillo Test Centre - located just a few kilometres away, and together they now form the best European Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Systems (UAS, RPAS, drones) and stand at the forefront of global unmanned vehicle testing. AERTEC's CEO, Antonio Gómez-Guillamón, provided a first-hand insight into the capabilities of these TARSIS, which have a take-off weight of 95 kg and 120 kg and are suitable for dual-use intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
“The Spanish aerospace industry is becoming increasingly important in the sector because it is developing cutting-edge, innovative technology, with an ever-bigger part to play and a key role in the advances that are taking place across Europe. We believe that the TARSIS UAS series clearly demonstrates the capabilities that are currently available in Spain to develop unmanned aerial systems, covering the entire design and manufacturing cycle, and their associated technological solutions, which are marking the future of the sector”, remarked Gómez-Guillamón.
AERTEC's CEO, who is also President of the Andalucía Aerospace Cluster, took this opportunity to congratulate the officials from the INTA CEUS, and the Spanish and Andalusian aviation industry as a whole, on the launch of these facilities, which are destined to become a leading centre in Europe. On this latter point, Pedro Becerra added that “the CEUS's new runway and facilities for large fixed-wing aircraft operations will be essential, not only for certifying new unmanned aerial systems capabilities in the future, but also to allow Andalusia to host European programmes such as Eurodrone or FCAS, thanks to the outstanding infrastructure provided by this project”.
AERTEC's role
AERTEC has been working alongside the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) for several years at its facilities at the Arenosillo Test Centre (CEDEA), where it has carried out testing and flight campaigns with its TARSIS unmanned aerial platforms.
AERTEC's Airports Division also played a pivotal role in this project from its inception, providing know-how in high-performance UAS operations. Also, as a company that specialises in the planning and design of airfields and airport infrastructures, it was also involved in various phases, creating the conceptual design of the airfield, which has been designed to develop and test all types of UAS, whatever their size. The CEUS UAS Test Centre is a facility for the advanced testing of MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) and HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) UAS. It has a 2,000 m x 45 m paved runway, an apron equipped with up to 4 areas to set up ground stations, two hangars and a multi-purpose building. It also has ancillary, maintenance, refuelling, security, etc. facilities. Thanks to its collaboration with the INTA-CEDEA, the centre is authorised to use one of the largest restricted flight areas in Spain, with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean and no height limit.
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.
