Hydra Technologies of Mexico

Hydra Technologies of Mexico is a Mexican firm dedicated to the design and development of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance operations.

The company includes one hundred employees and as of mid-2008 has two operational models: the S4 Ehécatl and the E1 Gavilán.

Operations

The unmanned airplanes S4 Ehécatl and E1 Gavilán are currently being used in Mexico for ecological supervisión, civilian protection, surveillance and the war on drugs. [cite news | first=Nurit | last=Nurit Martínez Carballo | coauthors= | title=Vuela alto el Politécnico | date=2008 - 08 -13 | publisher= | url =http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/sociedad/511.html | work =El Universal | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-13 | language = Spanish ]

The Government of the State of Jalisco has used Hydra’s products for detection of polluting sources in Río Grande de Santiago and for surveillance over Guadalajara, in search for flooding-sensitive zones. Both systems, Ehécatl and Gavilán, are also being utilized by other countries.ref-internet|
Apellido = Estrada Cortes
Nombre = Jesús
Vínculo autor =
Título = Industrias electrónicas presumen expansiones
Año = 2008
Edición =
Lugar = Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Editorial =
ID =
ISBN =
URL = http://www.milenio.com/guadalajara/milenio/nota.asp?id=642754
Fecha de acceso = consultado el 4 de agosto de 2008.|]

The S4 Ehécatl

The Ehécatl is an aerial unmanned surveillance system whose development began in 2002. Its principal market is directed towards providing security and surveillance capabilities in support of the Armed Forces, as well as civilian protection in hazardous situations. According to Hydra Technologies, the drone “observes what happens by land or sea. Because of its unmanned nature, it can enter dangerous zones being undetected.” cq|date=September 2007

Apart from an American-made FLIR infrared thermal sensor system, all of the S4 Ehécatl's componentry and avionics are designed, developed and manufactured in Mexico by the firm Hydra Technologies.Fact|date=September 2007

The S4 has a complex electronic system that is designed to provide up to eight hours of autonomous flight, in either daytime or nighttime conditions. The craft is controlled from a mobile central facility installed in a specially equipped three-man ground vehicle.Fact|date=September 2007

According to Hydra Technologies, who seek to introduce the product into the Mexican and American markets, the airplane is billed as competitive in cost and quality to other drone systems.Fact|date=September 2007 The surveillance capabilities of the product is also billed by Hydra Technologies as possibly offering "an effective solution of the border problems between the U.S. and Mexico." [Quoted from press release, Hydra Technologies (2007)]

The project developing the craft is a joint effort of the Mexican Federal Government, the Financial Sector, and Mexican academic and scientific institutions like CONACYT, the Instituto Politéctino Nacional, the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and ITESO.Fact|date=September 2007

E1 Gavilán

The Gavilán is an unmanned aerial system for surveillance that assures multiple uses and functionalities without risking human lives. This airplane offers capabilities that require more speed and less space that the established by its brother-system: the S4 Ehécatl.

The aircraft’s most important innovation is its lack of dependency on runways to execute its take-off, exchanging this necessity for a hand-made departure, making ground maneuvering easier on uneven terrain.

The aircraft has a 90-minutes flight autonomy, it can fly by day or night and its controlled by a single user by means of a portable GCS.

Like the S4, this system is the result of a joint effort between the Mexican Federal Government, Nafinsa and academic or scientific institutions such as CONACYT, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and ITESO.

The aircraft was presented on June 10th of 2008 in San Diego, California by 'Hydra Technologies of Mexico' in AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) North America 2008, the biggest global expo of this particular industry in the world.

Just a month alter its introduction in the United States, E1 Gavilán was also presented in the most important aeronautics expo in the world: the London Air Show of Farnborough, July 14th.

In Development

As of 2008, the company has two models on the market and another one in process of design, the S5 Cuculcán, which will be able to fly up to 16 hours without detection, and provide a portable data-recovery-system.

Awards

At the conclusion of the AUSVI symposium, where the S4 had being presented for the first time in North Merica, Hydra Technologies became the first non-U.S. recipient of the AUSVI's 'Al Aube Outstanding Contributor Award' for the development of the S4 Ehécatl UAS (Unmanned Aerial System). [Hydra Technologies (2007).]

In 2008, the firm also received the Leonardo Da Vinci award, given by the International Aeronautics Congress of Mexico (CIAM for its Spanish abbreviation) in its fourth instauration, for the development of the S4 Ehácatl, as well as the newly commercialized E1 Gavilán.

Furthermore, in August 3th, 2008, the State of Jalisco and Coecytjal presented Hydra with an unpresedented award in the XXIX CANETI (National Chamber of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics Industry in Spanish abbreviation) Annual National Convention, for its contribution to the informatics, microelectronics and communications industries in Mexico.

See Also

*E1 Gavilán
*S4 Ehécatl

References

External Links

*Official website: [http://www.hydra-technologies.com Hydra Technologies de Mexico] .