Spain announced that it will use the Airbus A321 platform for 3 new signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft to rebuild its airborne SIGINT capability…
Carried out by Airbus and Indra under the Santiago II program, the effort aims to convert the A321 platform into an aircraft capable of collecting and processing intelligence across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Extensive modifications are planned for the A321, including its antennas, receivers, signal processing systems, operator consoles, communication systems, and electrical and cooling infrastructure.
Under Santiago II, the Spanish Ministry of Defence has awarded Airbus and Indra a €16 million contract for the design of the platform and overall system.
Together with the next phase, which will cover the modification and integration of the 3 A321 aircraft, the program’s total cost is projected at approximately €436 million.
The new A321-based SIGINT aircraft are planned to work alongside the L3Harris SOAR system used on Predator B unmanned aerial vehicles, forming a layered SIGINT architecture of crewed and uncrewed elements…