The presidential inauguration of José Antonio Kast in Valparaíso, Chile, was secured by a formidable piece of technology: Indra’s CROW counter-drone system. Deployed in coordination with the Chilean Air Force, CROW established a protective bubble over the National Congress, safeguarding heads of state and international dignitaries from the growing threat of unauthorized unmanned aircraft.
CROW represents a high-performance, scalable approach to drone defense. Operating 24/7 from a high-mobility vehicle, the system fuses data from next-generation 3D radars and radiofrequency sensors with thermal and visible imaging. Its core intelligence, driven by artificial intelligence algorithms, allows operators to define dynamic priority zones and set alarm thresholds. When a threat is identified, CROW can deploy a range of soft-kill and hard-kill countermeasures to neutralize it, whether the system is stationary or part of a moving convoy.
This capability has been honed in real-world operations across the globe. CROW has protected high-level gatherings such as the NATO Summit in Madrid and the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council. Its performance at the APEC 2024 summit in Peru was particularly notable, where it automatically detected 94 unauthorized drones and neutralized 61 that strayed into the critical protection zone. Its military applications are equally vital, currently protecting ground troops in Mali and naval assets in the European Union’s Operation Atalanta.
The Chilean deployment is strategically timed before FIDAE 2026, the region’s leading aerospace exhibition. At the show, Indra will highlight its comprehensive approach to security, presenting CROW alongside air-surveillance radars, space technologies, and unmanned platforms.
Ultimately, Indra’s value proposition extends beyond hardware to system sovereignty. By integrating radar, electronic warfare, and command-and-control technologies, and offering technology-transfer programs, Indra empowers nations to maintain long-term control over their defense lifecycles. In the fast-paced world of drone threats, where systems can quickly become obsolete, CROW’s modular design and adaptability ensure it can evolve alongside emerging threats, providing a future-proof solution for protecting critical infrastructure, borders, and national events.
