We’re making history at the ATLAS Flight Centers. As the technical lead for the U-ELCOME project in Andalusia, CATEC has played a key role in a groundbreaking technological milestone: enabling the transport of medical supplies by drone between two rural towns—Beas de Segura and Villacarrillo (Jaén). This marks the first time two U-space airspaces have been connected in a medical drone transport operation in Andalusia. It’s undoubtedly a step forward toward a future where technology improves lives.

The project aims to demonstrate how unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can offer practical solutions for transporting medical materials to remote or hard-to-reach areas, enhancing accessibility. On June 10, a successful live demonstration was carried out, involving the coordinated participation of the TARSIS UAS (a 75 kg fixed-wing drone), two multicopter drones, three full flight teams from the Spanish company AERTEC and the University of Seville, as well as medical transport personnel from the SSG Foundation, working alongside CATEC, PildoLabs, and the U-space service platforms developed by ENAIRE and the Galician Technological Institute (ITG).

It was also the first time in Europe that an in-flight handover operation was performed with a fixed-wing drone of this size between two stations 23 km apart.

All operations during the demonstration were monitored in real time through the U-space service provider (USSP) platforms developed by ENAIRE and ITG. ENAIRE also acted as the sole Common Information Service Provider (CISP), validating the safe integration of these technologies into European airspace.

The event was attended by Lorena Garrido Serrano, Deputy Minister of University, Research and Innovation of the Andalusian Regional Government; Luis Miguel Carmona Ruiz, Provincial Deputy for Employment and Enterprise of the Jaén Provincial Council; Francisco Miralles, Mayor of Villacarrillo; and José Alberto Rodríguez Cano, Mayor of Beas de Segura. Also present were representatives from the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the Andalusian Emergency Medical Services 061, Pegasus Aerogroup, and the organizing companies CATEC-ATLAS, AERTEC, and ENAIRE.

As highlighted by engineer Francisco Fernández, CATEC’s project coordinator in Andalusia, “what has been demonstrated today is that a medical logistics network using drones is possible between towns that are typically poorly connected. In this case, Beas and Villacarrillo. The entire operation was completed in just thirty minutes, outperforming road transport. The real success is that this use case can now be replicated in other, more remote areas with fewer services,”