Hydra Technologies

Hydra Technologies is a Mexican unmanned aerial system (UAS) maker founded in 2005 and based at a manufacturing plant in Jalisco, Mexico. The company says it has built more than 18 years of operation, over 80,000 successful missions and more than 150,000 flight hours, and that it manufactures roughly 30 aircraft a year across its product line.

What the company builds

Hydra designs, manufactures and operates tactical unmanned aerial systems, combining avionics, sensors and ground control software in-house. Its line-up includes the S4 Ehécatl, the first UAV largely designed and manufactured in Mexico; the G3 Guerrero, a smaller fixed-wing tactical system; and newer systems marketed as the S-45 Báalam, S50 Kukulkán and S55 Ares. The company also offers turnkey intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services — flight time, aircraft, sensors, crews and maintenance — rather than selling aircraft alone.

Where things stand

Hydra's aircraft are used by the Mexican federal government and by public-security and civil-protection agencies, including Jalisco state authorities, who have used them to detect pollution sources and survey flood-prone areas around Guadalajara. The company has also exported aircraft within Latin America, including an S-45 Báalam delivery to Guatemala. Reported figures put its workforce at around 250 people as of 2022.