The Portuguese Navy and the Portuguese Naval School awarded an honourable mention to the “ATLAS – Systems & Aeronautics” project developed by the Aerospace Engineering student group (AeroTéc). The project was awarded for «the quality of the work presented and results shown» and «the safety and success» in the flight demonstration during the NAVAL-REX22 exercise held at Tróia Naval Base, in September.

For the exercise, an aircraft fully developed by the team members and equipped with Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) was used. During the exercise, the students went through a flight approval process for a civil aircraft in a military environment, which included filling out flight procedure forms and a pitch interview with the inspector from the National Aviation Authority (NAA). This was followed by a flight demonstration where the aircraft, the surrounding systems and the students themselves were put to the test in their ability to carry out a professional and safe operation, in line with other activities taking place in the military context of the Tróia Naval Base.

During the flight, the pilot and the operator of the aircraft, also members of the project, carried out several tests that were requested by the AAN inspector. For example, a simulation of lost link between the pilot and the aircraft (disconnecting the pilot’s command) was carried out and a range test, where the aircraft was moved more than 600m away without loss of radio signal.

Finally, in the face of adverse weather conditions on the runway for a traditional landing, the VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) mechanism with the tilt-rotor of the front engines was tested. This allowed the pilot to land the aircraft in vertical mode, thus proving the added flexibility that a VTOL system can provide in flight operations.

The ATLAS project also develops integrated solutions for forest fire monitorization – starting from the design and construction of the aircraft until the integration of deep-learning algorithms for fire detection.