TEKEVER and Santos Lab announce global strategic partnership

TEKEVER and Santos Lab, the leading Brazilian UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) manufacturer, are announcing a global strategic partnership. Both partners will join their capabilities to integrate technology, offer new products and join commercial efforts at a global level, with particular focus on the South American markets.

The AR2 Carcará is the first product to be jointly launched from this groundbreaking partnership and maked its debut at the Farnborough International Airshow.

The AR2 Carcará includes a water-proof airframe designed and produced by Santos Lab, specifically aimed at maritime and amphibious operations. The UAS is fitted with advanced onboard, communication and ground systems provided byTEKEVER, allowing the system to be fully interoperable with all other TEKEVER UAS products, and providing a new range of operational capabilities.

“We’ve teamed up to offer great products, built upon both our capabilities and technology, at a global scale. Santos Lab has a record of coming up with impressive new product designs, and bringing them to the market successfully“, said Ricardo Mendes, COO of TEKEVER Group.

“With this partnership, we are creating a true win-win relation. By being fitted with TEKEVER’s groundbreaking onboard, communication and ground systems, our products can get additional flexibility, versatility and reliability”, declared Gabriel Klabin, CEO of Santos Labs.

TEKEVER Unveils AR5 Life Ray in Portugal

TEKEVER publicly presents for the first time in Portugal the latest addition to its family of Unmanned Aerial Systems, the Tactical UAS AR5 Life Ray, at the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) Annual Convention, taking place on October 10th-12th, in Lisbon. TEKEVER sponsors the most important event for ASD, an Association that has 28 member associations in 20 countries, representing more than 2,000 companies with approximately 80,000 suppliers and bringing together the major players at the ASDS market.

Specifically designed for Maritime and Near-Shore Surveillance and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions, the AR5 Life Ray is an impressive 9-meter wingspan platform, able to achieve a cruise speed of 120 km/h, carry a 90-kg payload for multiple sensors and provide satellite communications, thus delivering a new added advantage to current monitoring activities and rescue operations. 

"For centuries, Portugal has looked towards the Sea for technological, social, cultural and economic prosperity. Once, we led innovation in Maritime environments, and it gave us greatness. Now, we are working hard to really push the envelope of technology with the AR5 Life Ray UAS, and it makes a lot of sense that a great product, primarily targeted to the Maritime Market, comes from Portugal.", commented TEKEVER’s COO Ricardo Mendes. The AR5 Life Ray is scheduled to begin operational tests in 2013.

TEKEVER Takes A Leading Role in European Aeronautics R&D

The TEKEVER Group has been awarded two European Aeronautics R&D projects, coordinated by the Group’s subsidiary companies, in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), in the value of 5 millions and a half euros, reinforcing its leading position as a provider of disruptive technologies for the Information Technologies, Aeronautics, Space, Defence and Security markets. 

In a sector strongly marked by fierce competition of international manufacturers and integrators, the TEKEVER Group invests in technological innovation as the strategy to conquer the international market, developing technologies and products that defy status quo and enable high added value. The two projects now awarded are focused in aerostructures and flight management systems (FMS), introducing new concepts and high potential approaches. 

The CHANGE project explores innovative concepts for adaptive aerostructures, incorporating new composite materials and intelligent materials, with the goal to significantly improve aircraft performance. Project BRAINFLIGHT, which results from the Group’s wide experience with autonomous systems, introduces an unforeseen approach to aircraft control. This new technology allows the shift of the navigation and control paradigm and it is applicable to both manned and unmanned aircraft, in the commercial, military and private contexts, giving way to multiple opportunities of commercial exploitation in the FMS, Flight Control Systems and cockpits international markets.

The two projects’ award, based on their high technological innovation levels, is evidence of the TEKEVER Group’s international recognition in the Aeronautics domain. It also bears a relevant mark for the Portuguese participation in European programmes, doubling the number of projects coordinated by Portuguese entities, and highlighting the TEKEVER Group as the Portuguese entity coordinating the highest number of projects in European Aeronautics R&D.

The results today attained by the TEKEVER Group enable the consolidation of its national leading position in the Research, Development and Innovation for the Aeronautics specialised sector, a market in full growth, and in which Portugal is committing a strategic investment with the creation of a technological cluster of international projection.