On the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the birth of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, the first flight of the defense unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed jointly by the students of the Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) and the National Aviation Academy (NAA) was carried out.

AzTU Rector Vilayat Valiyev, NAA First Vice-Rector Adalat Samadov, Turkish Aviation and Space Industry Company (TUSASH) MGP Academy President Ahmet Pinarbashı, TUSASH MGP Academy Director Sarhat Gul, TUSASH MGP Project Coordinator Gorkem Shimshek, trainers from TUSASH, engineer Sabri Orchun, TUSASH UAV pilots Okan Chindemir, Muhammed Furkan Bahat participated in the event.

It should be noted that the mentioned UAV was created as a result of the "AzTU-Turkish Aerospace, MGP 2023.1" highly qualified engineer training program implemented within the framework of the joint cooperation of AzTU, TUSASH and NAA.

The UAV's coordinate data is sent to the ground station through the GPS system. For example: Uniforms (berets) worn by soldiers for the purpose of identifying the enemy and the friend should be different in color. A blue beret signifies the friendly element, where the enemy is identified by clothing in a different color. The mission is carried out during 10 minutes of stable flight at an altitude of 50 meters. The total duration of the process is 14 minutes.

During the mission, the enemy coordinates are automatically calculated by the software, the general basic data is analyzed and transmitted to the Ground Control Station. Flight is performed by controlling the direction of the UAV to the information displayed on the Ground Station Interface (GUI).

After the UAV flight tracking ceremony, the closing event of the project was held.

First, the participants of the event laid flowers in front of the bust of national leader Heydar Aliyev in the lobby of AzTU and expressed their respect to his memory. Later, the memory of the Great Leader and the brave sons of the Motherland who died for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our lands was commemorated with a minute's silence. The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Turkey were played.

 AzTU rector Vilayat Valiyev, NAA first vice-rector Adalat Samadov, TUSASH MGP Academy head Ahmet Pinarbashı, Lifelong Teaching School director Aynura Ismayilova and others congratulated everyone who worked on the project.

It was noted that the project participants successfully completed the Engineer Development Program (MGP) by participating in the training of TUSASH specialists within eight months.

All other engineering faculties (aerospace engineering, information technologies, mechatronics, mechanical engineering, electric-electronics, communication (radioelectronics), metallurgy, etc.) of both higher education institutions, except for economics majors, were included in the program. A total of 43 people (students, doctoral students, young teachers) participated in the project.

All students studying in the mentioned specialties, after passing an interview stage along with the English language and aptitude tests were admitted to this training program, which is essential on a project-based and open competitive learning-teaching model.

In general, the training program was organized in order to design and manufacture an unmanned aerial vehicle from the idea to the first flight, consisting of 4 stages. (Theoretical part 3 weeks, practical basics 5 weeks, production 4 weeks, test (flight) 4 weeks)

All details of the UAV were developed in a special workshop created at AzTU within the project.

It should be noted that 4 students participating in the program received a job offer from the "Bayraktar Technology Azerbaijan" company and are currently participating in training in Turkey.