Spain now has the first national centre, and the third in Europe, dedicated entirely and specifically to experimentation with unmanned aerial systems, popularly known as drones.
It is located in the municipality of Villacarrillo (Jaén), where both stable and suitable weather conditions can be found for a good part of the year, as well as air space free of traffic. Both aspects are fundamental for facilities of this nature. In relation to the reserved air space, the centre has approximately 1,000 square kilometres, which guarantees the continuity of testing programmes, and where flight testing has already been taking place since last November.
From this moment on, the facilities are ready to operate at full capacity and handle all work requests from companies in the aeronautical sector. In this regard, a collaboration agreement has already been signed with the multinational Boeing, to commence a series of tests shortly.
The ATLAS Experimental Flight Centre has a main runway 600 metres long and 18 metres wide, with a potential extension to 850 metres, a platform, a flight tracking building and ancillary facilities, as well as several hangars.
This centre has been promoted by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA) and has among its objectives that developers, manufacturers and operators of unmanned aerial systems, regulatory authorities, official bodies, and Universities, technology centres and research centres, have suitable infrastructure to develop civil applications for this type of aircraft, such as surveillance, cartography, support in firefighting, civil protection missions or interventions in disasters with risks to people.
The multinational aeronautical engineering company AERTEC Solutions was responsible for the concept, design, and management of the construction project for these facilities, as well as supervising the construction tasks.
