Airbus has completed the assembly of its first SIRTAP prototype tactical UAS in Spain, writes Nick Flaherty.

The aircraft is ready to start ground tests at the Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Getafe, Spain. These tests will cover structural evaluations, main-systems components and software testing, and will finish with the maiden flight, scheduled for the end of 2025 at Spain’s National Institute of Aerospace Technology’s Unmanned Systems Test Centre in Huelva, Spain.

SIRTAP (Sistema Integrado de Vigilancia Aérea Remotamente Tripulado) is important because the design is free of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) that require licensing and approval by US regulators.

It has a maximum take-off weight of 750 kg with a payload of 150 kg, and has been designed to operate in all weather conditions by adopting ice protection, enabling it to operate between -40 and +50 C. It has endurance of more than 20 hours and can use a range of heavy fuels, reaching an altitude of more than 6000 m for day/night and maritime intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Flight testing is planned for 2026 to obtain airworthiness type certification for delivery.