THE AERO.NEXT PORTUGAL AGENDA
The Aero.Next Portugal Agenda is a mobilising agenda for the aeronautical sector financed by the Resilience and Recuperation Plan (PRR), which aims to reinforce the national positioning in the sector's value chain. Its objective is to develop complete aeronautical programmes in Portugal, ensuring all phases of these, including design, development, industrialisation and commercialisation.
The aero.next Portugal mobilising agenda integrated CTI Aeroespacial in 2025 with the purpose of collaborating on the project to convert the LUS‑222 aircraft into a dual-use version, based on requirements defined by the Portuguese Air Force.
LUS-222
Thus, CTI carried out engineering work related, among others, to various operational configurations (e.g., medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), cargo airdrop, paratrooper airdrop and search and rescue – SAR) – allowing the aircraft to have a dual-use operational profile.
It also studied the aircraft's certification process to obtain military qualification and thus also be sold to defence markets.
And CTI also defined an aeronautical development centre with a view to having a support unit for the development of upgrades to the LUS-222 aircraft.
MEDEVAC configuration
Paratrooper seating configuration
The above works fall under WP 2 of the Aero.Next Portugal Agenda and respond to a broad set of the development of a set of Products, Processes and Services (PPS) that covered the following areas of activity of the LUS‑222 project as a regional aircraft:
- conversion into a dual-use version;
- training programme to support the final assembly line;
- support for DOA and POA certification (design office and production, respectively);
- establishment of a systems testing laboratory;
- support for the establishment of an aeronautical development centre;
- formulation of the military certification process.
Ramp load-unload configuration
Cargo drop through the ramp
