Portuguese defense company TEKEVER will launch a representative office in Ukraine. This will make it possible to improve and speed up the maintenance of UAVs for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

This was reported to AIN by company representatives.

It is reported that with the opening of the Ukrainian office, the company planned to expand its staff, increase the network of engineering, service and research facilities, and create new training centers to improve the efficiency of joint operations with Ukrainian partners.

“The opening of the office in Ukraine will help TEKEVER to strengthen this support: to accelerate the adaptation of its systems, increase training opportunities for Ukrainian partners, and establish cooperation with other organizations in the region to create new solutions,” the company said.

The Portuguese company has been cooperating with the Ukrainian military since 2022 and provides unmanned systems for intelligence, surveillance, detection and targeting. It is reported that their flagship UAV, the AR3, had already completed more than 10,000 hours of combat flight time in Ukraine.

AR3

The AR3 is designed for reconnaissance at sea and on land with the ability to take off and land vertically. It has a wingspan of 3.5 m, a length of 1.9 m and a weight of 25 kg. The payload is 4 kg.

In the vertical takeoff and landing version, the drone can stay in the air for up to 8 hours, and when launched from a catapult, up to 16 hours. The maximum flight altitude is 3,600 meters, the communication range is 100 km, and the cruising speed varies from 75 to 90 km/h.

AR5

In addition to the mass-produced AR3, the Ukrainian military uses the tactical-level AR5 UAV, which is also designed for reconnaissance at sea and on land.

It has a wingspan of 7 m, a length of 4 m, and a weight of 170 kg. The drone can carry a payload of up to 50 kg. The flight duration reaches 20 hours, and the cruising speed is up to 100 km/h.

According to a company’s representative, the AR3 and AR5 UAS are constantly being improved thanks to feedback from Ukrainian specialists.

According to him, the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian front is the most difficult in the field of electronic warfare (EW) in history.

This has become an incentive to develop new technological solutions that increase the resistance of drones to enemy electronic warfare, GPS jamming and spoofing.