TSAMTO, July 20. Serbia plans to join the SiRTAP (Sistema Remotamente Tripulado de Altas Prestaciones) reconnaissance UAV development program, which is led by Airbus in the interests of Spain and Colombia.
According to Defense News, during a recent speech on national television, the Assistant Minister of Defense of Serbia for Material Support Nenad Miloradovich confirmed that Belgrade is exploring the possibility of industrial cooperation with Airbus in the framework of the SiRTAP project.
The project, led by Airbus Spain, aims to create a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle designed for intelligence gathering and surveillance. Although the drone is currently still at the design stage, the Spanish Ministry of Defense recently approved the allocation of $542 million from the defense budget for the program and plans to purchase a total of 27 SiRTAP UAVs. Columbia, which is also participating in the development program, plans to purchase 18 devices. In the defense budget of Spain for the current year, 100 million euros have been allocated for the purchase of the first batch of UAVs.
As Peter Voinovich, editor-in-chief of the Serbian aviation news portal TangoSix, told Defense News, "it may be a joint venture for production and export, but, of course, Serbia will be one of the potential customers (SiRTAP)." The American edition could not get a comment from the Serbian Ministry of Defense.
As Defense News notes, Serbia has previously stated its interest in the program, but it is too early to say in what capacity it will join this initiative.
At the Madrid exhibition Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad (FEINDEF), held in May, Airbus officials noted that, although the ambitious plan for the SiRTAP program is to produce 90% of the components of the complex in Spain (approx.CAMTO: apparently, the industry of both Spain and Colombia is meant, since the program is joint), however, due to the accelerated pace of implementation of the program, in some cases it may be necessary to use the competencies of suppliers from third countries.
The other day the Spanish edition Infodefensa.com It was reported that the tail and landing gear for SiRTAP will be designed and manufactured in Colombia, the flight testing phase of which in the wind tunnel will begin in the coming months.
The Spanish Aerospace Forces will become the first operator of the UAV developed by Airbus, which will initially replace the Israeli-made Sercher devices at the end of their service life. At the moment, the program provides for the purchase of nine complexes and an initial logistics package. Payments will be made annually in the period from 2023 to 2031. Each complex will include three UAVs, two interchangeable surveillance units, a ground control station and data reception equipment.
SiRTAP is designed for information gathering, surveillance and intelligence. The length of the UAV will be 7.3 m, wingspan – 12 m, height – 2.2 m, maximum take–off weight - 750 kg. The device will be able to stay in the air at altitudes up to 21,000 feet for more than 20 hours, the flight range will be 2000 km.
The maximum payload weight is 150 kg. The core of the system will consist of an optoelectronic/infrared surveillance unit, as well as a synthetic aperture radar for target detection. The device will be able to work in extreme conditions at temperatures from -40 to +50 degrees. With thanks to the anti-icing system.
The SiRTAP wings and main rotor can be easily dismantled, which will allow the complex to be transported in containers both by land and by air by VTA aircraft. Thus, the C-295 can deliver two Sirtaps to its destination in one flight (approx.TSAMTO: Serbia last year acquired two C-295MW, which are due to arrive in the country at the end of this year).
Although the first version of SiRTAP is designed for reconnaissance, Airbus says that in the future it will be possible to integrate weapons on board.
The SiRTAP UAV project was initiated in 2017, after the signing of the declaration of intent by the Defense Ministers of Spain and Colombia. The development of UAVs began in the interests of the Armed Forces of the two countries in early 2019. It is conducted by Airbus with the participation of the Colombian Aviation Industry Corporation (CIAC). The project is supposed to reduce the dependence of European countries on Israeli and American-made UAVs.
