AERTEC was present at the inauguration ceremony of the Unmanned Aircraft Test and Research Centre, known as CEUS, in Moguer (Huelva), where it exhibited its largest fixed-wing aerial platforms, TARSIS ISTAR and TARSIS-W, for the occasion. AERTEC, whose Airports division has also been involved in the design of the CEUS airfield since the origins of the project, has joined the interest shown by other large companies in the future use of its facilities.
The inauguration was attended by the President of the Spanish Government, the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, and the Director of the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), Lieutenant General Julio Ayuso, as well as other civil and military authorities and the heads of INTA and CEDEA. AERTEC was represented at this event by its CEO and founder, Antonio Gómez-Guillamón, who was accompanied by Pedro Becerra, General Manager of the Aerospace and Defence Systems Division, and Rafael Márquez, Operations Director.
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.
