Overview
- In early May, Airbus Helicopters and the Spanish Navy ran a tactical trial off Rota that linked the offshore patrol vessel Rayo, a Navy H135 helicopter, Airbus’s Flexrotor and Alpha Unmanned Systems’ A900 using Airbus’s HTeaming tablet.
- During the exercise operators used the HTeaming tablet aboard the H135 to control the two UAS, and both drones successfully conducted takeoffs and landings from the ship while it was underway.
- The trial simulated a high‑speed boat‑chase ISTAR mission in which the Flexrotor and A900 tracked the target and streamed live video to the helicopter and the ship in real time.
- UAS sensor data was processed through Airbus’s Helicopter Integrated Tactical System and fed into Navantia’s NAIAD, which interoperates with the Spanish Navy’s SCOMBA combat‑management system to extend the ship’s sensor reach.
- Airbus and partners say they will build on the demonstration to deepen air‑sea‑land integration and explore drone‑swarm capabilities, while stressing that the event was a concept trial rather than an announced operational deployment.