SAEGA's origins can be traced back to 2016, when the first "eVTOL" (Electric Vertical Take off and Landing aircrafts) was launched to revolutionise mobility by being able to partially meet the demands of a booming market whose growth was limited by the limited autonomy of multicopter drones.

SAEGA already had considerable experience in the design of aeronautical structures, for both civil and military aviation, but it was not until 2020 that it took the step of establishing itself as a company and began to design and manufacture its first prototypes. Today, the company produces tailor-made aircraft for key sectors such as defence, agriculture, livestock, industry and health, with a wide range of practical applications: parcel delivery, emergency aid and medicine delivery, high-voltage power line maintenance, road inspection, fire control, military operations, customs surveillance, search for people on land and at sea, etc.

Innovative technology, aerodynamic efficiency and lightness

In October 2021, a patent was granted for the Anduriña 25 model, a platform that combines the latest technological advances in terms of composite manufacturing, aerodynamic efficiency and structural optimisation to achieve greater lightness. The Anduriña 25 has a new innovative structural and aerodynamic design that allows it to fly in reliable and safe conditions, without compromising the integrity of the aircraft or the cargo it carries. As Óscar Piñeiro, Manager of SAEGA, explains, "it is a safe drone because all its critical systems are redundant, so if one of its eight engines were to fail, we could continue flying." Robustness and aerodynamics are also strong points of the Anduriña 25, a highly efficient model that significantly reduces energy consumption when flying as a fixed wing aircraft.

The boost from Business Factory Aero

Piñeiro highlights the strong commitment of the Regional Government of Galicia to the unmanned aerial vehicle sector through its participation in BFAero, particularly in the acceleration programme of the 4th edition, providing start-ups with the necessary means to promote aeronautical projects and facilitating access to large tractor companies and to human and material resources that would otherwise be very difficult to access.

"This is a very intense programme, where great progress is made in just a few months, as the entire BFAero team tries to get the most out of each of the accelerated projects," he says. Visibility is another of the advantages that the manager values the most, as it has helped them to approach potential investors and future customers, thanks to which they have been able to present their project to major companies in the sector that have shown interest in the product, "the impact has been enormous, we are very close to validating the minimum viable product to be able to go to market in 2024."

Research is part of SAEGA's DNA, so in addition to developing the necessary tests to ensure that the drone meets the technical specifications, they are continuing to work on finding solutions for the integration of alternative energies in the Anduriña 25, as well as studying new business opportunities.

Piñeiro is clear about their goals, "to be able to launch a commercial product by mid-2024 and to establish alliances with international partners that will enable them to access foreign markets in the long term."