A helicopter, not a quadcopter

Most small drones are battery quadcopters or little fixed-wing aircraft. Alpha Unmanned Systems took a harder route: miniature unmanned helicopters with petrol and heavy-fuel engines, chosen for range and the ability to hover over a ship’s deck or a border crossing for long periods. The company was founded in Madrid in 2014 by Juan Luque, Álvaro Escarpenter and Eric Freeman. Escarpenter, the technical lead, came from the Spanish autopilot specialist UAV Navigation; Freeman, the chief executive, had spent decades building technology companies.

From Madrid to four continents

Development of the Alpha 800 began in 2017, and the larger A900, built to NATO STANAG standards, followed in 2019, with an A900T variant after it. Alpha also designs the subsystems around them: ground and ship-based control stations, tracking antennas, AIS transceivers and a heavy-fuel powerplant. The company says its helicopters fly in more than 14 countries across Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, and names the Hellenic Navy, the Indonesian Coast Guard and Bulgaria’s border police among its customers, along with the US defence department.

Certified and partnered

In 2023 Alpha gained military certification in Spain and Germany, a significant step for a company of its size. In 2025 it announced partnerships with the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, with Airbus Helicopters España and with Turkey’s Havelsan, pointing its small helicopters towards naval integration. Its missions are maritime surveillance, border control, intelligence and reconnaissance, infrastructure inspection and aerial target work. Alpha is ISO 9001 certified and remains privately owned. Its customers range from navies to border police.

Gente

• Eric Freeman · co-founder, chief executive
• Álvaro Escarpenter · co-founder, chief technology officer — Previously at UAV Navigation