October 13, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Indra; issued October 13, 2015)

MADRID --- On September 29 Indra presented the unmanned version of its P2006T MRI maritime reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft at the London conference series on maritime reconnaissance.

Indra's General Manager of Defense and Security, José Manuel Pérez-Pujazón, took advantage of the multinational's participation in the conference series to make the announcement. Indra adapted the aircraft as part of its so-called "Targus" project, and it has already passed the viability tests and experimental demonstration.

Indra is currently working on the system certification and testing phase, and has told the Regional Government of Galicia that it would be willing to conduct these activities at the UAV development center to be built at the Rozas airdrome in Lugo.

The aim of the development is to place an unmanned aircraft on the market for the very competitive price of less than 6 million euros per unit. “The system will offer 12 hours of flying time without touching down, high-performance maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue capabilities, and unbeatable operating and maintenance costs," said the company's general manager Pérez-Pujazón.

Indra initially developed the P2006T MRI as a low-cost airport surveillance solution based on a light manned aircraft, designed to complement coastal reconnaissance systems which, like the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) in the Spanish case, have been deployed by different countries to protect and guard their maritime borders.

Coastal maritime reconnaissance systems offer effective cover of the area between the coastline and a 20 or 30-mile radius. However, the economic interests of coastal countries extend beyond this radius up to the boundaries of the maritime exclusion zone situated 200 miles from the coastline or, as the case may be, up to the halfway point between the coasts of two countries when the distance between them is less than 400 nautical miles.

This is the case of the Mediterranean Sea, in which the distances between coastlines belonging to different countries often form part of maritime exclusion zones situated within a radius of 50 to 80 miles.

An intelligent aircraft at an affordable price

Coastal reconnaissance systems alone are insufficient to monitor these areas efficiently, respond to the issue of illegal immigration and address the humanitarian crises it provokes. Aerial or ground reconnaissance systems are also required.

The P2006T MRI is designed specifically to cover these areas, and with operating costs significantly lower than those of traditional maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The miniaturization and greatly reduced weight of the radar and infrared sensors and automatic identification systems (AIS) required for the mission mean that they can be installed on light aircraft designed for low-consumption leisure aviation.

This is the case of Indra's P2006T MRI which, with six hours of flying time without touching down in its present version – the new unmanned system will double that – a fuel consumption of 32 liters of automotive gasoline per hour of flight and extremely low maintenance costs, permits the on-board installation and integration of not only a Seaspray 5000E active electronically scanned array radar (standard Royal Navy equipment), a high-resolution visible and infrared camera, and an AIS, but also a line-of-sight radio link with an effective range of 180 nautical miles and an Inmarsat terminal.

This terminal sends real-time transmissions of the radar signal, visible and infrared video, AIS data and the aircraft's navigation data to a ground station, where they are monitored in real time.

The P2006T MRI has been successfully tested by the Spanish Civil Guard and Frontex in the Indalo operation that is carried out every summer along the south coast of Spain; in Operation Cross Eye recently conducted in the Sicilian Channel; and in the demonstrations of the European Union's Perseus system carried out in the Alboran Sea and Aegean Sea. In view of the aircraft's efficiency, the European agency Frontex recently chose it for future aerial reconnaissance operations of maritime and land borders.


Indra is one of the leading consulting and technology multinationals in Latin America and Europe. In 2014 it reported revenues of 2.938 billion euros, employed 39,000 professionals, had a local presence in 46 countries, and delivered projects in more than 140 countries.

Sept. 25, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Indra; issued Sept. 24, 2013)

Indra Coordinates, In Collaboration with the Civil Guard, the First Tests of the Future European System for Maritime Surveillance

This past Tuesday, 24 September, Indra worked with the Civil Guard to launch the first test at sea of the Perseus (Protection of European BoRders and Seas through the IntElligent Use of Surveillance) R&D project. This initiative is led by the technological multinational and is aimed at developing new maritime surveillance capabilities for all of Europe.

The goal is to develop and test a system that allows interconnecting the various maritime surveillance infrastructures that already exist in Europe and to incorporate the most innovative technologies.

Perseus is one of the most significant initiatives that have been launched by the European Commission through the Seventh Framework R&D Programme, and it is also the EU's flagship of security at sea. The project began in 2011 and has a four-year duration.

The exercise carried out today marks the start of the week-long tests that will take place in the Strait of Gibraltar, specifically in the Alboran Sea. Tuesday's test included detecting a vessel that departed from Melilla and simulated transporting immigrants illegally.

The operation for the vessel's detection, monitoring and subsequent detention was led and coordinated from the national coordination centre of the Civil Guard's Administrative Offices located in Madrid.

To do so, a CN-235 Civil Guard plane carried out an open water surveillance mission. The necessary orders were sent from the control centre, and the information was received in real time by the aircraft. The plane detected and identified the target and proceeded to monitor it.

The responsibility of the mission was then transferred to the MRI P2006T maritime surveillance light plane, and low cost solution developed by Indra. Equipped with radar, opto-electronic day/night vision, and AIS vessel identification systems, it operated between 20 and 45 nautical miles from the coast.

Once the vessel neared the coast, the SIVE El Sabinar station, located in Almeria, took over the monitoring tasks. Afterwards, the Rio Miño intervention vessel carried out an interception mission with support from Indra's MRI P2006T maritime surveillance plane.

This exercise tests the integration of a number of maritime surveillance technologies. Combining the information gathered by the SIVE and the sensors installed on various air and sea platforms makes it possible to control areas at high sea that cannot be reached by coastal surveillance systems. It also facilitates the detection of smaller vessels, intensifying the control of illegal human and drug trafficking, while improving rescue capabilities.

In addition, the information gathered by the Civil Guard's control centre in Madrid was shared with the Perseus system's nodes located in France, Italy and Portugal. The objective is for all the countries to have a complete vision of the routes and activities of vessels at sea.

A demanding test calendar

Through two large-scale validation campaigns, Perseus will demonstrate its viability and propose the standards for building the EU's future maritime surveillance system.

The first campaign will take place in the western area of the Mediterranean Sea. Following the first exercises that began today in the Alboran Sea, the second series of tests will take place near the Canary Islands and the African coast. The third series will include exercises that cover an area from southern Portugal to the south of France and Italy. This will show the system's effectiveness in different maritime and coastal environments, as well as its ability to coordinate operations involving multiple countries.

Lastly, the second campaign has been scheduled for 2014. It will take place in the Aegean Sea and in the channel of Samos Island, with the possibility of expanding to the Black Sea.

Indra is the European leader of coastal surveillance and more than 5,000 km of borders are protected by its systems. Directing Perseus strengthens its position as one of the top companies in the field of land and maritime surveillance, protection and border control systems in the world. The company has already implemented its systems in numerous countries, including Spain, Portugal, Romania, Latvia and Hong Kong.

Indra is the number one multinational consultancy and technology firm in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business and sustainability. The company has allocated more than €550 million to R&D&i in the last three years, making it one of the top companies in Europe in its sector in terms of investment. With sales approaching €3,000 million, nearly 60% of its income is from the international market. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 128 countries.