SIRTAP

The SIRTAP (Sistema de Investigación Remotamente Tripulado de Altas Prestaciones) is a tactical unmanned aerial system in the Class II/III, MALE category, developed by Airbus Defence and Space at Getafe, Madrid, in cooperation with Spain and Colombia. Configured primarily for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, it is intended to replace the Elbit Hermes 450 in Spanish and Colombian service and will be the first unmanned system designed, developed and produced in Spain to enter military service. As of August 2026 no SIRTAP has flown; first flight is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and first deliveries for 2027.

Development

Development began around 2017, with more than 100 Spanish companies participating. In May 2023, during a state visit by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Colombia signed a cooperation agreement with Airbus worth about US$300 million. On 29 November 2023 Spain's Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth approximately €495 million for nine systems — 27 air vehicles, nine ground control stations and two training simulators — for the Spanish Army and Air and Space Force, with León Air Base planned as the operational centre. Colombia committed roughly US$16.5 million in 2024 for 18 aircraft and six ground control stations for the Colombian Aerospace Force. The Colombian Aeronautical Industry Corporation (CIAC) in Bogotá manufactures the landing gear. GMV supplied the navigation system, Sener the line-of-sight datalinks (delivered June 2024), Volz Servos the actuators, Amper the voice-communications system, and UAV Navigation–Grupo Oesía the guidance, navigation and control package. The design is ITAR-free. Airbus completed assembly of the first prototype on 17 June 2025; ground testing finished in September 2025, and the aircraft made its first taxi run under ground-control-station command at Getafe on 15 June 2026, roughly a year behind the original schedule. Flight testing will take place at INTA's CEUS centre at Huelva, with deliveries running toward 2030. In January 2025 Airbus and Navantia began work on integrating SIRTAP operations aboard the Spanish Navy's LHD Juan Carlos I. Serbia has expressed interest, without a confirmed contract as of mid-2026.

Design

SIRTAP is a high-wing monoplane with a V-tail, powered by a single four-stroke piston engine driving a pusher propeller mounted at the rear of the fuselage to limit vibration at the nose sensor position. The landing gear is fixed and reinforced for operations from paved or unpaved strips of at least 800 m, and the wings and tail can be removed or folded for transport in standard shipping containers. The aircraft is 7.3 m long with a 12 m wingspan, 2.2 m high, and has a maximum take-off weight of 750 kg. Maximum speed exceeds 110 knots, service ceiling is 21,000 ft, endurance exceeds 20 hours (about 15 hours at full payload), and range exceeds 2,000 km using line-of-sight and SATCOM datalinks, with a line-of-sight radius of 250 km. It has autotaxi capability, operates between -40°C and +50°C, and handles crosswinds above 20 knots. One ground control station can control up to three aircraft.

Armament

The baseline Spanish order includes no weapons, but four underwing hardpoints are reserved for future integration of air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs. Payload capacity exceeds 150 kg, with some sources citing 180 kg, and two payloads can be carried simultaneously. Sensor options include a chin-mounted EO/IR turret, laser designator, SAR/GMTI radar, maritime surveillance radar, AIS receiver and ELINT, COMINT and SIGINT packages.