With an ever more unpredictable global political situation and increasing tensions, Europe finds itself in a precarious position. With uncertain security guarantees and an aggressor to the east, it needs to play catch-up to fend for itself. This is where SPARTA comes in, an all-European attritable unmanned aerial system to be ready by 2027. SPARTA aims to provide the European Political Community1 with a response to these new technological advances. It is to be designed as a system capable of delivering high-quality Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) data live from beyond enemy lines, with sufficient range and endurance to make it home safe and fly again. Being modular, it will allow it to perform a wide variety of missions, both military and civilian. Furthermore, its form factor allows it to be tube-launched from a standard sonobuoy tube, meaning it can be deployed from an aircraft, helicopter, or the ground. SPARTA will be able to communicate and collaborate with its mothership and other unmanned systems for ultimate mission effectiveness. It is aiming to achieve all of this while adhering to European sustainability ideals. And most importantly, being made entirely in Europe, it is helping build a stronger, self-sufficient Union. ... Read more

The aim of this executive overview is to summarise the content of this extensive report regarding the design of an Landing, Launching and Storage (LLS) system for a soft kite Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) system.
An innovative idea does not translate automatically to financial gain. With new technologies, such as AWEs it is crucial to assess the potential market for a product and the associated economic performance. Four market segments exist for energy generation: on-shore on-grid, on-shore off-grid, off-shore on-grid and off-shore off-grid. AWE performs best in on-shore offgrid applications due to its high mobility, higher capacity factor compared to wind and relatively lower land usage. AWE soft kites are currently targeting 100 kW to 500 kW range, which is currently dominated by medium-power diesel generators. ... Read more