Unmanned Cargo Aircraft Conference sees fifth edition

The conference aims to bring together aircraft manufacturers, operators, knowledge institutes, consultants, system integrators, logistic industry and government organisations active in the upcoming field of unmanned cargo aircraft.

Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (UCA) are a relatively new phenomenon; the first UCA service is to be started in Kenya this year. UCA offer the potential to transport loads from 1,000kg to 10T or more over both short and long distances, on routes that are unfeasible or uneconomical for other modes of transport.

During the conference, internationally renowned speakers will introduce UCA development projects and potential applications. Subjects to be covered are:

• UCA business models: how to earn money with UCA?
• UCA configurations: what could - and should - UCA look like?
• Regulation: where are UCA allowed to fly, and under which conditions?
• Societal benefits: what can UCA contribute to economic and social development?
• Industrial participation: how can UCA contribute to innovation and what opportunities do they generate for new enterprises?
• Market analysis

"Avio Aero is glad to host in Turin the 5th edition of the global unmanned Cargo conference," commented Paolo Salvetti, Sales Director at Avio Aero. This conference represents a tremendous opportunity in order to meet key stakeholders which are interested in the future development of large unmanned cargo aircraft, as well as understanding the challenges and the opportunities that such a development is posing. When we joined PUCA in 2015 the members participating were around 30. Two years later, we are above 70, and the number is keeping growing, representing the strong interest around UCA. Avio Aero, as part of GE Aviation, is looking very carefully at future large unmanned cargo aircraft; we strongly believe that cargo will be the first application where large UAV will break in commercial operations, revolutionizing the way goods are moved around the world. And we want to be part of this journey with our competencies and leading technologies".

“Propulsion systems have since the dawn of flight been an important engine of progress,” said Hans Heerkens, Chairman of the Platform Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (PUCA). “UCA, not bound to the limitations of a cockpit crew, offer the possibility of innovative configurations and applications, for example short landing runs, fuel-optimised cruise speed and distributed propulsion. It is fitting that Avio Aero is hosting this edition of the Global UCA Conference, since it can play an important role in developing the propulsion systems that future UCA need.”