Malaga-based aerospace company Aertec has signed a contract with AALTO, the Airbus subsidiary behind the Zephyr high-altitude aircraft programme, to provide the platform’s main avionics systems. The agreement covers their design, development, manufacture, supply and support.
The systems will be developed and made at Aertec’s centre in the Aerópolis aeronautical park in Seville. The contract therefore brings a major technical role for the Malaga-based company, while the stated production location is outside the Costa del Sol.
Zephyr is a solar-powered, fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate in the stratosphere, above conventional air traffic. The supplied report says it has remained airborne for more than 67 days, a record for flight endurance among fixed-wing aircraft.
AALTO presents Zephyr as a platform that can carry different types of equipment rather than serving only one purpose. Potential applications include connecting directly with users’ devices, observing the Earth, intelligence and surveillance, disaster management and border protection. These are described as possible uses, not as services currently operating in the Costa del Sol.
From its high-altitude position, Zephyr could provide connectivity across an estimated area of up to 7,500 square kilometres, according to the report. AALTO describes the concept as a “tower in the sky”, positioned between conventional aircraft and satellites.
For Aertec, the contract expands its involvement in a European aerospace programme and assigns it responsibility for systems central to the aircraft’s operation. The company’s aerospace and defence managing director, Pedro Becerra, said the agreement strengthened Aertec’s role as a technology partner in advanced aerospace systems.
AALTO’s head of procurement, James Pritchard, also welcomed the strengthened collaboration, describing Aertec as a partner for the technical challenge. The supplied information does not give a contract value, a schedule for delivery or a date for Zephyr’s next development milestone.