Tekever calls its new AR5 the “ most advanced medium-altitude, medium-endurance fixed wing UAS in the market,” offering higher capability, increased endurance and reduced operating costs.

The AR5 is designed for missions such as search & rescue, maritime surveillance and maritime patrol.

Tekever’s Robert Whitehouse told FINN: “It’s a twin-engine aircraft that has been designed for maritime roles. We’ve fitted it with sensors such as a radar, a day camera, a night camera, and also high-resolution stills to be able to really help maritime agencies patrol the seas and to secure the oceans.”

He added: “This is really a multi-role asset. We’ve built this to be able to distribute the data afterwards, so we collect useful information to help the agencies deliver something useful rather than just flying a plane for the sake of it.”

Going global

Although Tekever officially announced the AR5 at Farnborough Airshow in July, it already has customers with the aircraft in use. Now, Portugal’s Tekever is looking to go further.

Whitehouse said: “It’s really scaling up and going global with this product. We feel we have a compelling offering. We’ve had interest from all over the globe and we’re really looking now to push on and to see this product being used all over the world.”

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