Airbus tees up new surveillance drone with ‘Made in Spain’ tack

MADRID — Airbus Spain is ready to start work on the high-endurance drone SiRTAP for the Spanish and Colombian air forces, saying the first units could be delivered to Spain by 2026 if the government approves a contract soon.

Launched in 2015, following an initial request from Spain and later on joined by Colombia, Airbus has been leading the SirTAP (Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones) program – previously known as the Atlante 2 MALE drone– aimed at creating a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle suited for intelligence gathering and surveillance. The platforms are set to replace both countries’ aging Israeli-made drone fleets, Spain’s Searcher MkIIs manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) and Colombia’s Hermes 450, produced by Elbit.

Speaking to Defense News at the Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad (FEINDEF) exhibition here, Jean-Brice Dumont, head of military air systems at Airbus, said that Spain is considering procuring a total of 27 SiRTAPs, each of which consists of three aircraft, a ground control station and data reception equipment. The drone is currently still in a pre-design phase.

“Our objective would be to have the first batch of these delivered by 2026 … which means we have to hit the ground running to make this happen,” Dumont said. No contract has yet been signed, however.

Both nations signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the drone in 2019, followed by a formal proposal submitted by Airbus to the Spanish Ministry of Industry in January 2021. More recently, the Spanish MoD obtained approval to invest approximately USD $542 million (€500 million) from its defense budget into the drone project.

As for Colombia, the country is reportedly looking to buy six systems, including 18 drones, with some Colombian suppliers contributing elements to the design of the systems.

Airbus officials have previously stressed the program’s premise of producing 90% of drone components in Spain. However, Dumont points out that in order to meet the goals of fast-tracking the program, a compromise may have to be reached in possibly opting for non-Spanish suppliers in some cases.

The SiRTAP is envisioned to have over 20 hours of endurance, flying at altitudes of 21,000 feet while carrying up to 150 kilograms of payload. A collapsible design means forces can eventually transport it overland and by air in transport aircraft such as the C-295, which can carry two drones. It is suited for various mission sets including intelligence gathering, maritime surveillance, convoy escort and force protection as well as electronic warfare, according to Airbus.

Dumont notes that the platform was primarily designed as a cost-effective solution to appeal in part to air forces with lower budgets but wishing to acquire advanced capabilities and certifications. Although the SiRTAP is currently a Spanish-Colombian story, other countries are said to have shown interest in the drone and are closely monitoring its development, including France, he said.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

马德里——空中客车西班牙公司表示，如果西班牙政府尽快批准合同，首批无人机SiRTAP将于2026年交付给西班牙，该公司已准备好开始为西班牙和哥伦比亚空军生产高续航无人机。

SirTAP（Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones，高性能战术无人机系统）项目于2015年启动，最初由西班牙提出申请，随后哥伦比亚也加入。该项目前身为Atlante 2中空长航时无人机，旨在研发一款适用于情报收集和监视的战术无人机。该平台将取代两国老旧的以色列制造无人机机队，西班牙的Searcher MkII无人机由以色列航空航天工业公司（IAI）生产，哥伦比亚的Hermes 450无人机由埃尔比特系统公司生产。

在西班牙国际防务与安全展览会（FEINDEF）期间，空客公司军用航空系统负责人让-布里斯·杜蒙在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，西班牙正在考虑采购共计27套SiRTAP系统，每套系统由三架飞机、一个地面控制站和数据接收设备组成。该无人机目前仍处于预设计阶段。

杜蒙特表示：“我们的目标是在2026年交付首批产品……这意味着我们必须立即行动起来才能实现这一目标。” 然而，目前尚未签署任何合同。

两国于 2019 年签署了无人机合作谅解备忘录 (MoU)，随后空客于 2021 年 1 月向西班牙工业部提交了正式提案。最近，西班牙国防部获准从其国防预算中投资约 5.42 亿美元（5 亿欧元）用于该无人机项目。

据报道，哥伦比亚正计划购买六套系统，其中包括 18 架无人机，一些哥伦比亚供应商将为这些系统的设计贡献元素。

空客公司官员此前曾强调，该项目的前提是90%的无人机零部件将在西班牙生产。然而，杜蒙指出，为了实现加快项目进度的目标，或许需要做出一些妥协，在某些情况下选择非西班牙供应商。

SiRTAP无人机预计续航时间超过20小时，飞行高度可达21,000英尺，有效载荷高达150公斤。其可折叠设计意味着部队最终可以通过陆路和空运（例如C-295运输机，一架C-295可搭载两架无人机）进行运输。据空客公司称，SiRTAP适用于多种任务，包括情报收集、海上监视、护航、部队保护以及电子战。

杜蒙指出，该平台的主要设计理念是提供一种经济高效的解决方案，部分目的是为了吸引预算有限但又希望获得先进能力和认证的空军。他表示，虽然SiRTAP目前主要由西班牙和哥伦比亚合作开发，但据称其他国家也对这款无人机表现出了兴趣，并正在密切关注其发展，其中包括法国。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。