Brazilian technology group Akaer has entered into a partnership agreement with Saudi group Intra Defense Technologies for developing large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the country.
The agreement was signed recently at LAAD Defense & Security 2023, the largest defence and security fair in Latin America, held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Akaer, which has more than 30 years of experience in the development of cutting-edge technologies for the defence and aerospace sectors, said the project will initially cater to the Saudi market demand and then, it will be gradually extended to other countries and regions.
Currently, Intra operates UAVs in Saudi Arabia with great success, accumulating over 4,000 flight hours in different missions.
The partner company developed two VTOL UAVs (which perform vertical landing and takeoff), one of which was on display at LAAD 2023.
“This is a crucial partnership for the Akaer’s growth in important markets for Brazil, such as the Middle East. We are expanding our actions around the world and creating new sources of synergy”,
remarked Akaer’s CEO, Cesar Silva after signing the deal with Intra’s Executive Director of Alliances, Hmoud Alshethre. Also present at the ceremony was Intra’s UAV Test Pilot, Mohammed Aljehani.
The partnership between Akaer and Intra will follow the concept of the Saudi Vision 2030, which foresees a majority content of the programme in that country, stated Silva.
Samoon – Photo: Tony Osborne / Aviation Week
The first project started to be developed in January, and foresees the production of a prototype of a Class 3 twin-engined UAV, the Samoom, an armed, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft system (UAS). Akaer and Intra are scheduled to fly the first Samoon by the end of the year, but the trend is that other systems will be created in the near future.
However, the partnership with Akaer will be even broader, with the aim of developing bolder solutions, he added.
Source: Press Release