Hydra Technologies is a Mexican firm dedicated to the design and development of

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s for surveillance operations and aircraft

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

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

Operations

The S4 Ehécatl and E1 Gavilán are used in Mexico for ecological supervision, civilian protection,

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

and the

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

. The State of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

uses them for detection of polluting sources in

Río Grande de Santiago The Río Grande de Santiago, or Santiago River, is a river in western Mexico. It flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It one of the longest rivers in Mexico, ...

and for surveillance over

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

in search for flooding-sensitive zones. They are also used by other countries.

S4 Ehécatl

Development of the Hydra Technologies Ehécatl began in 2002 as a joint effort between the

Government of Mexico The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

, the Financial Sector, and Mexican academic and scientific institutions. Its main function is to provide security and surveillance capabilities in support of the Armed Forces, as well as civilian protection in hazardous situations. According to the manufacturer, the drone "observes what happens by land or sea. Because of its unmanned nature, it can enter dangerous zones being undetected" and is "an effective solution of the border problems between the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and Mexico." The S4 Ehécatl has a complex electronic system designed to provide up to eight hours of autonomous flight in either daytime or nighttime conditions. It is controlled from a mobile central facility installed in a specially-equipped three-man ground vehicle. Apart from an American-made

FLIR Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...

thermal video system, all of the craft's components are designed, developed and manufactured

in-house Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

E1 Gavilán

The

Hydra Technologies Gavilán The E1 Gavilán ('Sparrowhawk' in English) is an unmanned electrical-surveillance airplane designed and manufactured by the Mexican firm Hydra Technologies of Mexico. The aircraft is a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle. The Gavilán ...

is a

miniature UAV A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle. Miniature UAVs range from micro air vehicles (MAVs) that can be carried by an infantryman, t ...

with ninety minutes of flight autonomy, controlled by a single user through a portable GCS. As the S4 Ehécatl, the E1 Gavilán is the result of a joint effort of the institutions mentioned above and is also equipped with a FLIR thermal video system for nighttime operation. It was presented on June 10 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in

AUVSI The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, also known as AUVSI, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the unmanned systems and robotics industry through communication, education and lea ...

's Unmanned Systems North America 2008, an important event for this particular industry. The

europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an debut took place on July 14 of the same year at the

Farnborough Airshow The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...

In development

, the company has other models in process of design, the S5 Cuculcán and the G1 Guerrero. The S5 Cuculcán will be able to fly for up to sixteen hours and provide a portable

data recovery In computing, data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, inaccessible, lost, corrupted, damaged, or formatted data from secondary storage, removable media or files, when the data stored in them cannot be accessed in a usual way. The da ...

system, there is not much information on the G1 Guerrero yet.

Awards

* Al Aube Outstanding Contributor Award for the development of the S4 Ehécatl by AUSVI (2007)Hydra Technologies (2007). *

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Award for the development of the S4 Ehécatl and the D1 Gavilán by the International Aeronautics Congress of Mexico (2008) * Special award by the Jalisco State Council of Science and Technology for its contribution to the Information, Microelectronics and Communication Industries in Mexico (2008)

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.hydra-technologies.com/ Aircraft manufacturers of Mexico Mexican brands