Indra buys Catalan radar startup Dares to arm its Tarsis military drones
What's the deal? Spanish defence group IndraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired 100% of Dares TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Catalan deep tech firm specialising in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and advanced image processing. The deal value was not disclosed.
What does Dares do? Founded in 2015 in Castelldefels, near Barcelona, the company emerged from the European Space Agency's business incubator (ESA BIC). It processes images captured by SAR sensors and has built its own compact, high-performance radar.
What's the endgame? Indra plans to adapt the radar for defence and integrate it into its Tarsis drones — class I aircraft under 150kg built for the armed forces. The buy also marks Indra's entry into the SAR market, where it says sophisticated solutions remain scarce.
The technology detects changes of just a few centimetres on the ground and works at night and in poor weather. That makes it valuable for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, as well as maritime patrol, border surveillance, and monitoring of critical infrastructure.
What's included? Dares' 27 specialists will join Indra's Radar Centre of Excellence. The group is folding the deal into its Weapons & Ammunitions business and its push to speed development of unmanned military systems.
Why now? Indra has accelerated its growth plan this autumn, also buying a 30% stake in tech firm TRCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → on the same Wednesday. This week the group, led by Ángel Simón, reshuffled its leadership, cutting up to five division heads tied to former chairman Ángel Escribano ahead of a new strategic plan due November 25.
The signal: Indra closed 2025 with revenue of €5,457 million, a local presence in 46 countries, and commercial activity across more than 140 markets. Bringing SAR capability in-house signals a broader bet on building unmanned defence systems internally rather than buying them off the shelf.
Read more: levante-emv.com
Image credit: mark6mauno
