Indra Group reinforces its leadership of the radar and drone sector with the acquisition of Dares Technology

Indra Group will enhance its advanced radar and unmanned system capabilities and its critical defence and space technologies with the acquisition of the whole of Dares Technology.

This Barcelona-based company specializes in providing image processing services for proprietary and third-party synthetic-aperture radars (SAR) for the mining and infrastructure sector, while it has also developed its own radar. Founded in 2015 in Castelldefels, Dares Technology was set up as one of the innovative Deep Tech startups of the European Space Agency Business Incubation Center (ESA BIC).

The operation will enable Indra Group to incorporate a small high-performance radar capable of capturing extremely accurate images, as well as advanced SAR processing software to analyze the images and detect virtually imperceptible variations in the terrain. At the same time, the integration of Dares Technology into Indra Group will allow for the continuity and expansion of the capabilities and solutions of this technology for both civil and defence applications.

The company will integrate this sensor into its Tarsis family of drones, thereby accelerating the development of Class I unmanned systems weighing less than 150 kg for the Armed Forces under the Special Modernization Program it leads.

To achieve the above, it will adapt the radar to the specific requirements of the defence sector and prepare it to fulfill critical missions such as the generation of high-precision topographic maps and the detection of changes in the terrain measuring just a few centimeters, a feature with multiple defence applications for the surveillance and control of movements of people, vehicles, and other elements on the ground.

This technology can also be used during maritime patrol and Earth observation missions via satellites, facilitating the detection and tracking of vessels, the surveillance of borders and areas of strategic interest, and the ongoing monitoring of critical infrastructures. Furthermore, its ability to operate in adverse conditions, regardless of sunlight and other meteorological factors, makes it a key tool for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), providing high-resolution images and advanced analysis in near real time.

The operation will also incorporate a team of 27 highly-qualified specialists in this technology into Indra’s Radar Center of Excellence, thus expanding the company’s knowledge and mastery of these kinds of systems.

With this operation, Indra Group will expand its portfolio of solutions for the Weapons & Ammunition business and bolster its global standing at the forefront of the design, development, and manufacture of all kinds of cutting-edge radars for the world’s most advanced armies. It will also enter the synthetic-aperture radar market, a segment in which the range of solutions with this degree of sophistication is extremely limited. At the same time, the acquisition will accelerate the development of advanced unmanned systems, an area of huge military significance that boasts great commercial potential.