Green light for flight tests on Indra’s Targus, one of the largest civil drones in europe

Indra, one of the leading global technology and consulting companies, has been approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to start flight tests of one of the largest and most advanced civilian drones in development in Europe, the Targus.

The company has achieved this impressive milestone after several years of close work with the Galician company Gaerum, its technological partner in the project.

In this way, Indra complies with the deadlines and commitments assumed for the development of its Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV), one of the key projects addressed within the Civil UAVs Initiative, the ambitious proposal with which the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN ) and the Xunta de Galicia want to make this region an international benchmark in the sector.

This is the first time that an Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) of 1.25 tons and made in Spain has obtained such a permit to fly.

The first tests will begin immediately and will aim to verify that the modifications and system installed on the plane do not alter its behavior in flight.

Starting next April, remote flight tests will begin, which will last for a year. During the tests, the cockpit pilot will assign control to the ground control center and will only intervene in the event of an incident and at the critical moments of landing and takeoff.

Advanced Engineering and Testing

The safety requirements in the aeronautical industry are extremely demanding and, for this reason, Indra and its partner Gaerum have had to pass a completely new and complex test process before obtaining this certification from the aeronautical authorities. Some of the work done to achieve this has required:

• Modification of the Tecnam P-2006 T platform, following the procedure agreed with the authorities, to install the automatic flight control system on the aircraft.
• Integration of the automatic flight system with the rest of the aircraft equipment and check its perfect operation.
• Development and certification of the system that allows the on-board pilot to transfer control to the ground station easily and quickly, using a single actuator.
• Checking that the ground control station remotely executes all the operational procedures of the aircraft, including pre-check, start-up of the system and execution of an operational mission.
• Execution of communications and navigation tests and demonstration of the full functionality of the Targus.

One innovative element that has been used intensively is the simulation of the aircraft and all its systems in order to validate design decisions and run tests without the need to fly.

This has allowed validation of the behavior of the aircraft throughout a complete simulated mission, from takeoff to landing. In this way, risks have been minimized and security has been reinforced, saving costs.

About the Civil UAVs Initiative

Powered by the Xunta de Galicia, the Civil UAVs Initiative has mobilized €165 million distributed over four major programs. The first focuses on the creation and improvement of aeronautical infrastructure and the Rozas aerodrome to facilitate the development of the sector in the region; the second is an R&D program with an investment of €115 million to work on the development of new products, technologies and solutions; the third pillar revolves around eleven pre-commercial tenders for solutions based on the use of UAVs aimed at improving territory and rural environment management, maritime control and air traffic; and the last one is the business incubation and acceleration program, which recently launched the Business Factory Aero, launched to attract and support projects from companies and startups from anywhere in the world.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It’s a major global supplier of proprietary solutions in specific segments of the Transportation and Defense markets and a leading company in digital transformation and information technology consultancy in Spain and Latin America by means of its Minsait subsidiary. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with an end-to-end approach that has high value and a significant innovative component. In 2018 Indra received income totaling 3.104 billion euros and had 43,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in more than 140 countries.