{"id":387024,"date":"2021-03-17T15:58:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T18:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=387024"},"modified":"2021-03-17T15:58:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T18:58:11","slug":"the-atoba-takes-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/the-atoba-takes-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atob\u00e1 takes flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil has come a step closer to entering the group of nations producing large drones, technically known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In July 2020, Stella Tecnologia, a firm based in Duque de Caxias, greater Rio de Janeiro, completed the maiden flight of the Atob\u00e1, a remotely piloted air system measuring 500 kilograms (kg) in weight, 8 meters (m) in length, and 11 m in wingspan. Named after a large marine bird commonly seen along Brazil\u2019s coast, the UAV is designed for both civilian and military applications and is the largest Brazilian-built aircraft of its kind to successfully take flight.<\/p>\n

Around 10 years prior, Brazilian defense contractor Avibras started development of a UAV of the same class as the Atob\u00e1, dubbed Falc\u00e3o, but the project was abandoned before any flight was undertaken\u2014and after at least R$85 million was spent on development (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP issue no. 211<\/em><\/a>). Currently only a handful of countries\u2014including the US, China, Israel, Russia, Iran, France and the UK\u2014have the technology to manufacture military unmanned aircraft of this size, which have been increasingly deployed in war and conflict zones, especially in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Atob\u00e1 carried out two flight tests, the first lasting 20 minutes and the second a half-hour. Everything went as expected. The aircraft\u2019s stability and responsiveness to commands were excellent,\u201d says Stella Tecnologia CEO Gilberto Buffara J\u00fanior. \u201cIt was designed to be simple, fail-proof, and easy to operate and maintain.\u201d The flight tests were conducted from a private aerodrome in Brazil\u2019s southeastern municipality of Casimiro de Abreu on July 20, the day Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont (1873\u20131932) was born.<\/p>\n

The Atob\u00e1 is designed for use by the military in border and coastal surveillance and recognizance missions, and by law enforcement in monitoring major events and in search and rescue missions. It has a 70 kg payload capacity for equipment such as radar systems, surveillance cameras, and multispectral sensors, which capture images using different wave frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared.<\/p>\n

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Stella tecnologia<\/span><\/a> The Atob\u00e1 was developed at a cost of R$11.5 million and in collaboration with students and professors from UFRJStella tecnologia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Controlled from a ground station, the UAV is propelled by a 4-stroke 60 horsepower (hp) gasoline engine and has an endurance (flight time without refueling) of 28 flight hours. Its range of 250 kilometers (km) is limited by the ground station communication radius. The Atob\u00e1 can fly at speeds of up to 150 km\/h and at altitudes as high as 5,000 m, where it is imperceptible to the naked eye\u2014for comparison, airliners fly at around 11,000 m. Although not designed to carry armaments, the Atob\u00e1 can be adapted to deploy missiles and bombs within its payload capacity.<\/p>\n

Vivaldo Jos\u00e9 Breternitz, a UAV expert and a professor at the School of Computing and Informatics at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in S\u00e3o Paulo, explains that the maiden flight of an aircraft, whether crewed or unmanned, is a significant milestone in that it demonstrates the project has been successful so far. But the manufacturer will still need to run a large number of flight tests before the Atob\u00e1 becomes an operational UAV. \u201cIt still has a long way to go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

And while the drone developed at Stella Tecnologia is a breakthrough for the Brazilian aerospace industry, says Breternitz, it is less sophisticated than other projects being developed elsewhere. \u201cThe UAV universe is highly diverse. The US Air Force is working on a project, called Skyborg, to develop artificial intelligence-enabled unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) as wingmen for manned fighter aircraft. China, in turn, is developing a UCAV, called Dark Sword, which is expected to fly at speeds as high as 2,400 km\/h,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Even so, Breternitz believes it is important for Brazil to develop the capabilities to manufacture military UAVs in the class of the Atob\u00e1. \u201cI very much believe in developing solutions locally, and not only for drones. Initiatives such as Stella Tecnologia\u2019s drive local research, help to develop skilled labor, and build manufacturing capacity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For Breternitz, the ideal approach to the UAV market would be that used by successful players in the aerospace industry: find and build world-class capabilities in a niche market to win global market share. A case in point is Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. After it was privatized in the 1990s, the S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos-based company specialized in regional, short-haul aircraft and has now become the global market leader in this segment.<\/p>\n

Development of the Atob\u00e1 started five years ago and has cost R$11.5 million so far. \u201cI had no third-party funding; the entire investment came from the sale of my first drone company, SantosLab, and other businesses in real estate. I\u2019m now looking for investors to complete the project,\u201d says Buffara, who still has work to do to refine the UAV\u2019s design, including its heavyish frame. Before the airworthiness certification process begins, the Atob\u00e1 will be fitted with a locally produced autopilot system in replacement of its current, foreign-made system.<\/p>\n

Engineering students from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) participated in the project through an academic internship arrangement with Stella Tecnologia. UFRJ also provided access to laboratories for testing, including testing on materials for the UAV frame\u2014the wings and fuselage are made of composite materials that are lighter and stronger than conventional aluminum.<\/p>\n

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One of the biggest challenges was designing and then building the fuselage. \u201cIt was difficult as very little technical information is publicly available on this type of equipment. We were only successful after a lot of trial and error,\u201d says Buffara. Another challenge was integrating the aircraft\u2019s electrical and control systems so they operate properly together. \u201cWe had resolve electromagnetic interference issues affecting the different systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

In dealing with these challenges, Buffara, who has a degree in business administration, leveraged his extensive experience in drone development. In 2006, SantosLab\u2014which Buffara cofounded with a partner\u2014designed and built a small UAV, called the Carcar\u00e1, for the Brazilian Navy, with a wingspan of less than 2 m and a weight of just 4 kg. \u201cThis was the Armed Forces\u2019 first order for this type of equipment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Buffara sold his stake in the business, assembled a team of professionals with prior experience of developing aircraft\u2014mostly mechanical and systems engineers, but also aeronautical engineers\u2014and founded Stella Tecnologia to develop the Atob\u00e1. Over the previous five years, he has received support from several consultants in developing the UAV\u2019s design.<\/p>\n

Nei Brasil, head of the unmanned aircraft department at the Brazilian Aerospace Industry Association (AIAB), believes there is strong global demand for UAV classes like the Atob\u00e1, but that the success of the project will largely depend on whether it secures interest from the Brazilian government. \u201cWhat really matters is whether a firm\u2019s host country will support the development of the project through to production by placing orders,\u201d he says. \u201cA previous initiative by Avibras to build a UAV of this size, the Falc\u00e3o, was discontinued after it failed to attract commercial interest in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffara is currently in talks with the Brazilian military, but no firm negotiations have yet taken place. Stella Tecnologia is accredited by the Ministry of Defense as a Strategic Defense Company (EED)\u2014an approved supplier to the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian Air Force currently operates at least three different UAV models: the Hermes 450 and Hermes 900, made by Israeli company Elbit Systems, and the Heron I, from Israel Aeroespace Industries (IAI). The Hermes 450 is similar in size and operational capabilities to the Atob\u00e1; the other two are in a larger class of UAVs weighing more than 1 ton.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Brazilian Air Force\u2019s remotely piloted aircraft are used in surveillance missions to provide ground and air forces with accurate intelligence and reconnaissance data,\u201d the Air Force Public Affairs Agency said in a statement about the UAVs. Neither the Air Force nor the Ministry of Defense have responded to requests from Pesquisa FAPESP<\/em> to comment on whether the government has any interest in the Atob\u00e1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Air Force paid about US$25 million for two Hermes 450 UAVs, whereas two Atob\u00e1 UAVs, including the ground control station and training, would cost a third of that amount,\u201d says Stella Tecnologia\u2019s CEO. The Atob\u00e1 is not only cheaper, but also boasts a longer endurance than its Israeli competitor\u2019s 17 hours (as specified on the manufacturer’s website), as well as accommodating more advanced sensors and cameras, says Buffara. \u201cWe are optimistic about our drone. We hope to complete the project and make it operational later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rio-based firm successfully develops large-sized unmanned aircraft for defense and security missions","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":387248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[228],"coauthors":[116],"class_list":["post-387024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-engineering"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387024"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387764,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387024\/revisions\/387764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387024"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=387024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}