Airbus builds first SIRTAP prototype, ready to commence ground trials

With the first SIRTAP prototype now built, ground trails are ready to commence. (Airbus)

The first Airbus SIRTAP unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been built at the company's Getafe facility near Madrid, Spain, and is now ready to commence ground trials.

Airbus announced the milestone in mid-June, seven months after assembly of the first prototype was launched on the new line at Getafe in November 2024.

“The ground testing – comprising structural evaluations, main-systems components, and software testing – is due to take place over the next months and will finish with the maiden flight, scheduled by the end of 2025 at Spain's National Institute of Aerospace Technology's (INTA's) Test Center for Unmanned Systems (CEUS) in Huelva, southwest Spain,” the manufacturer said.

A second prototype airframe for the Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) is also being built. With the first flight expected to take place in 2025, entry into Spanish service is slated for 2026.

In November 2023, the Spanish MoD contracted nine unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) comprising a total of 27 air vehicles and nine ground control stations for the Spanish Army and the Spanish Air and Space Force. With two simulators, the deal was valued at approximately EUR495 million (USD543 million at the time).

With a maximum take-off weight of 700 kg and a 150 kg payload capability, the SIRTAP (a Spanish acronym that loosely translates as Integrated System for High-Performance Unmanned Air System) is intended to be equipped with both a multimission radar (enabling over land and maritime roles) and an electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret. Company specifications give the unmanned aircraft a range of more than 2,000 km and an endurance of over 20 hours.

For more information on the SIRTAP, please see