The work carried out for months by the Argentine subsidiary of Aerovehicles Inc. (AVI) together with the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) and the local firm BA Aeroplanos (Baaer) bore fruit: in the last week of August, the aerostat prototype Tripanko, the first designed and manufactured entirely in the southern country, successfully completed test flights.

It did so in all kinds of wind conditions, and now, with the information recorded in this first phase, the engineers from AVI and INTI -who designed it- as well as those from BAaer -who manufactured it- will define the final project, while starting preparations for the production line. According to company sources revealed to Infodefensa, the estimated sale price is a maximum of 4.47 million dollars, a figure that can be reduced to cheaper versions, depending on the specific purposes for which it is intended.

After completing the first tests, the executive director of the American company, Bob Fowler, stated that the prototype seeks to meet a “specific demand” and a “fundamental need” in Argentina, such as equipping its security and intelligence services.

Radar 360 and other features:

Specifically, the Tripanko has a load capacity of 200 kilos (which can be increased in future versions), a remote satellite monitoring system, an early warning radar with 360-degree day/night coverage, a simultaneous tracking capacity of 200 targets, and foliage penetration. In this way, it will be very useful for conventional, border, maritime, and waterway surveillance tasks or even special events.

All in all, AVI highlights that the product will represent a “great contribution” to its line of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services, which is completed with the three versions of the Berkut aircraft: manned, optionally manned and unmanned (autonomous or remotely piloted).

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