Kapil Kajal
A European drone that supported Ukraine in destroying billions of dollars’ worth of Russian military assets, including the advanced S-400 air defense system, could soon be made in Taiwan under a new defense partnership.
Portugal-based Tekever, a leading provider of AI-driven autonomous systems, announced a partnership with Taiwan’s Apex Aviation during the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition held from September 18 to 20.
Central to the agreement is the potential local production of Tekever’s AR3 drone, which has been widely deployed in Ukraine.
The AR3, a medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with modular payload options including synthetic aperture radar and infrared sensors, has logged over 10,000 flight hours in combat operations, according to Tekever.
Scott McClelland, Tekever’s deputy defense director, told Interesting Engineering during the exhibition that the drone has “supported Ukraine in the destruction of nearly $2.5 billion in Russian assets, including an S-400 air defense system.”
The model is also in service with the UK military for electronic warfare missions.
AR3 drone
The AR3 drone is designed as a compact fixed-wing system for endurance and flexibility in maritime and land missions.
It can stay aloft for up to 16 hours and comes with an optional beyond-line-of-sight datalink, making it well-suited for extended operations such as intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), border protection, artillery fire correction, and infrastructure monitoring.
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