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The E1 Gavilán is an unmanned electrical-surveillance airplane of design and manufacturing by the Mexican firm Hydra Technologies of Mexico. The aircraft is a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle.
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The Gavilán was presented on June 10 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 after its introduction in the United States, E1 Gavilán was also presented at the Farnborough Airshow, July 14. Gavilán is the Spanish word for Sparrowhawk.
Description
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.