FAASA and Indra have signed an agreement for the management and operation of the seilaf simulation centre located in Seville

FAASA, an aeronautical group, and Indra, a multinational consulting and technology firm, have signed an agreement for the joint management and operation of the Fire Fighting Simulation Centre (SEILAF) located in the Andalusian company's facilities in the Seville Aeropolis Aeronautical Park.

The aim of this alliance is to promote the use of the facility in question and to transform it into an international reference for educating and training the professionals and pilots involved in extinguishing forest fires.

To improve the centre's management, Faasa will focus on teaching specialisation courses and carrying out commercial efforts, while Indra will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the facility's state-of-the-art systems. This will ensure the best service possible for the centre's users.

The Simulator Centre, known as SEILAF, has been developed using a technological platform that enables training activities, education and research in the field of flight and fighting forest fires using the latest technologies in distributed, aeronautical, meteorological and fire behaviour simulation. All of this makes SEILAF one of the most advanced centres in Europe at this time.

SEILAF is comprised by three simulators that can operate in an individual or interconnected manner. One of them is a Bell 412 helicopter that recently received authorisation and certification from the Agencia Española de Seguridad Aérea (AESA, Spanish Agency for Air Safety) for educating and training helicopter pilots.

The platform also includes an Air Resources Coordination Simulator, a Technical Extinguishing Direction simulator, and an instructor workstation that can establish the exercises of this technological platform.

The system makes it possible to develop specific training programmes to train helicopter pilots, air resource coordinators, fire extinguishing technicians or the individuals responsible for coordinating and managing forces in the event of a forest fire. SEILAF is the first simulator in the world that has been conceived for training in the field of emergencies and fire fighting.

The Simulation Centre is located in a 4,500 m2 lot, occupies more than 600 m2 and is the result of a programme launched in 2009. Developed by Indra, the project phase also involved public and private entities, such as CITIC, FADA - CATEC, the University of Cordoba and FAASA.

SEILAF is the result of an R&D&i programme in which more than €7 million have been invested. Its development and implementation has involved the continuous work of more than 30 professional.

About FAASA

Headquartered in Palma del Río, (Córdoba), this business group has more than 47 years of history and it is made up of five companies that operate throughout the entire aeronautical field. FAASA has extensive experience in the operation of planes and helicopters as well as in aeronautical training and maintenance.

It currently operates in Spain and Chile as the reference company in fighting forest fires using helicopters as well as aircraft. It has accumulated more than 175,000 flight hours in this activity. It also works in the field of emergencies with air resources.

In the 2012 fiscal year, the group earned more than €54 million and employed more than 300 professionals.

About Indra

In the field of simulation, Indra has developed more than 200 simulators for customers in 24 countries. Indra supplies simulation systems to demanding customers such as the US Navy, the British Ministry of Defence, Airbus Military, Eurocopter and Agusta Westland, among others.

Indra is the leading Spanish multinational consulting and technology firm and one of the main players in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business and sustainability. The company has allocated more than €550 million to R&D&i in the last three years, making it one of the top companies in Europe in its sector in terms of investment. With sales approaching €3,000 million, nearly 60% of its income is from the international market. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 128 countries.