RTVE puts out to tender the contracting of two helicopters and two planes for aerial coverage

With an endowment of 4.88 million euros, RTVE publishes the contracting file for two years (2025-26) for the service of capture, recording, reception and transmission of television signals from the air using two helicopters and two manned aircraft.

This service will be part of the operation that is deployed in broadcasts where moving images must be captured in very large areas such as the Vuelta Ciclista a España. The two helicopters will be used for aerial image capture (one of them will also act as a relay), and two other aircraft that will serve as a relay to relay the signals to the monitoring points.

Also contemplated is the provision of new generation technical equipment necessary for its installation in helicopters, airplanes and ground tracking, as well as technical support for its installation and operation. RTVE estimates annual use of the service for about 285 hours, although it stipulates that this assessment is an estimate, without there being any commitment on the part of the Corporation (only billing the flight hours actually requested and performed).

The helicopters will be equipped with Cineflex HD V14 cameras, similar or superior, with optics with minimum characteristics of 42x97A (9.7mm to 815mm) with duplicator, with SDI video outputs (SD and HD). In addition, they will have an HD recording system (preferably XDCAM) as well as a camera order reception system. These receivers will be in the UHF band in analog, with the possibility of working in digital and bidirectional, with the possibility of communicating with the director himself, and will be compatible with the repeaters that will be mounted on the relay planes and will be able to be managed by external telemetry.

They must also have a positioning system based on AES 128 encryption with independent frequency in narrow band, with a minimum coverage of 100 kilometers, with a maximum refresh rate of 1.5 seconds.