The RPAS Fulmar, Shepherd and Atlantic defy strong winds at the Conde de Gazola base

The RPAS Fulmar X, Shepherd and Atlantic on Wednesday took part in the second day of flight exhibitions at the European summit on remotely-piloted systems, UNVEX S&D, taking place this week in the northwestern Spanish city of León.

The demonstration was held at the Spanish Army’s Conde de Gazola military base, located in Fernal del Bernesga, a few kilometers to the west of León.

The wind constituted an incentive for those attending the exhibitions, as it reached speeds of up to 15 knots.

Despite the hostile weather, the RPAS proved that they were ready to perform missions even in the face of adverse meteorological conditions.

Attendees included Santiago González Gómez, the Director-General of Spain’s Armament and Material Office (DGAM), who paid close attention to the explanations given by the aircraft’s operators.

The show began around 4 pm with Thales’ Fulmar X, which is already being used by the Spanish Navy’s infantry corps and will soon be deployed by the Army. The system is capable of operating with wind gusts of up to 25 knots, so it carried out its mission without any setbacks.

Right thereafter, Expal’s Shepherd flew over the area. This RPAS, weighing only 2.8 kilograms (6.2 pounds), has been specially designed to serve as an advance observer for indirect fire support.

SCR’s Atlantic was the last drone to take to the air. It is well-acquainted with the area, since the Conde de Gazola base has seen it fly over many times in campaigns by the Artillery Information and Location Group (GAIL) II/63, which generally operates there, within the defense ministry’s Rapaz (“Predator”) program. It recently reached a radius of 126 kilometers (78.3 miles) while providing data connection and real-time video streaming, without any interference and without using communication relays on the ground. Since late 2017, the GAIL operates two Atlantic drones.

The systems Tarsis, developed by Aertec, and the ALO (a Spanish acronym for Light Observation Aircraft) made by Spain’s National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), were also displayed in the static exhibit.

The flight demonstrations started Tuesday at the Spanish Air Force’s Virgen del Camino airbase. That day saw seven RPAS from different companies, both domestic and international, show off their capabilities. On Thursday, the Condor system manufactured by Dronetools, which has been acquired by Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) and has been operational since the start of the year at the unit’s Transmissions Battalion in Madrid, will do the same.