01/20/2014
(Infodefensa.com) GS Forte, Madrid - The Armada Spanish spent several years looking for an unmanned aircraft ( UAV , for its acronym in English) that can operate from their vessels with sufficient guarantees. So far it has not had any luck.
"Because of its high complexity, the market has not yet been able to develop such systems that are appropriate to us," he said last Thursday the Chief of Staff of the Navy , ( AJEMA ) General Admiral Jaime Muñoz-Delgado , during a meeting with the press.
So far, the Spanish Armada has tried to use the model Scan Eagle American fixed-wing aircraft that can operate from ships thanks to the special launch and recovery system. However, "finally has not been" explained AJEMA.
The most logical alternative is the use of a rotary wing system, since their capabilities Vertical takeoff and landing maneuvers facilitate these ships having platform for these operations, as with manned naval helicopters.
At this point, because "you always have to try before spending," added General Admiral, we have used the formula of the lease to check the operation of Skeldar developed by the Swedish company SAAB. And he has been operating in Operation Atalanta anti-piracy Spain takes on coalition off the coast of Somalia
An initial rental and subsequent acquisition system: From the beginning two phases in the process of obtaining a suitable UAV for the Navy were established. As explained in the publication Mission: Atalanta. The fight against piracy in the Indian , released last month by the Ministry of Defense , the Navy found that it lacked experience in UAVs and could not go for a model that proves suitable.
Thus, to prove it in a real environment, last summer the first UAV was deployed aboard the Maritime Action Ship Meteor with three objectives: minimizing the risk to staff, reducing the effort allocations helicopter and complement other means existing monitoring, as explained by the aforementioned publication.
The rental Skeldar V-200 , a device 600 kilos, has lasted until the end of 2013 and has cost 2.5 million euros, which has included instruction operators Armada and maintenance of equipment. And its deployment throughout last fall over the Indian and the coast of Somalia has earned the Navy reaching the milestone of becoming the first European to use Navy rotary wing systems in actual operations.
However, Skeldar has not proved to be the most appropriate solution. "We have not been very pleased with it," he acknowledged Thursday the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
Hope Pelican
In any case, these systems have served the Navy to gain experience in UAV operations, Muñoz-Delgado added, and the knowledge gained now lets you collaborate with the Spanish industry in national development: the Pelican , working in Indra .
The collaboration could end in an acquisition program, which would favor domestic industry, but that is a desirable future for both parties remains to be seen.
In any case, the form of cooperation that has been adopted, the Navy will have gained a better understanding of these systems, while developers Pelicano have more elements of improvement that will place you in a better position in the international market .
Currently, the Navy is "waiting for a UAV appears" to find it appropriate, be it national or manufacture.