EAD (EKOLOT Aerospace & Defence) makes its début at FIDAE 2026, introducing the ZEUS ecosystem to the Latin American market.
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Press Release, Korczyna, 24 March 2026: The European multinational EKOLOT Aerospace & Defense (EAD) will be participating in the FIDAE (International Air and Space Exhibition) for the first time, underlining its commitment to Latin America as a strategic market.
FIDAE 2026, taking place from 7 to 12 April, is one of the region’s leading business platforms for the aerospace, defence and security sectors. It will bring together operators, government institutions and technology companies from around the world, offering the Company a key environment to showcase its capabilities and a framework in which to consolidate industrial and technological partnerships.
EKOLOT Aerospace & Defense will be exhibiting the ZEUS VTOL-CTOL platform at FIDAE, a family of platforms in a MTOW (Maximum Take-Off Weight) range from 100 to 250kg that combines the aerodynamic efficiency of a fixed-wing design with the versatility of vertical take-off and landing, making it ideal for civil, defence, and security missions in remote or challenging environments. The ZEUS is uniquely modular and convertible concept: a single base airframe accepts VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) or CTOL (Conventional Take-Off and Landing) conversion kits, supports multiple MTOW (150kg, 200kg, 250kg for VTOL and 250kg – 350kg for CTOL), and payloads from 30 – 120kg on VTOL versions and up to 150kg on the CTOL ZEUS G variant, designed to deliver exceptional endurance of 12–24 hours and a modular, payload-agnostic configuration.
“ZEUS is a comprehensive family of systems, designed around a single technological platform to adapt to a wide range of scenarios, specifically addressing the needs of government operators seeking persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities, border security, maritime surveillance and the protection of critical infrastructure”, explains Edgardo Zapata, CEO of EKOLOT Aerospace & Defense.
With ZEUS, EAD has created a new generation of unmanned aircraft that has successfully bridged the operational gap between small tactical UAVs and heavy MALE-class systems (Medium Altitude Long Endurance), which are costly and complex to operate. Complementing this vision is the concept of a system whose modular architecture allows for different configurations — VTOL, CTOL and hybrid — optimising interoperability and reducing logistical and operational costs.
In response to the challenges facing Latin America: Designed for missions requiring high operational flexibility and deployment in environments lacking infrastructure, the ZEUS VTOL-CTOL family offers tremendous versatility in the region’s challenging environments, making it an ideal solution for dual-purpose missions, ranging from border security, combating illicit activities, protecting critical infrastructure and natural resources, detecting forest fires, to humanitarian support missions in emergency scenarios… an enormous operational scope to which the system responds with the range and aerodynamic efficiency of a fixed-wing platform, combined with the operational flexibility of vertical take-off and landing, a multi-sensor architecture and a very high cost-efficiency ratio.
Participation in FIDAE 2026 marks a key step in EKOLOT Aerospace & Defense’s (EAD) internationalisation strategy, which aims to meet the growing demand in Latin America for efficient, flexible and cost-effective ISR solutions. With its debut in Chile, the company is strengthening its position as a provider of advanced technology in unmanned systems and consolidating its commitment to the region as one of its main growth drivers. EAD’s solutions are currently being evaluated and considered in Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Chile.
European technology and operational autonomy: EKOLOT Aerospace & Defence (EAD) develops its systems within a European technological ecosystem, enabling it to offer solutions that are ITAR-free and highly flexible in terms of integration. Furthermore, its industrial model includes options for technology transfer and local assembly, helping client countries to develop their own capabilities. “For many governments, it is not just a matter of acquiring a system, but of building a national technological capability,” notes Zapata.
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