The Brazilian company Stella Tecnologia has developed the Albatroz Vortex unmanned aerial vehicle, which has successfully completed its first test flight. This event is quite significant for Brazil, not only because the UAV was completely developed in the country, but also as it is equipped with a domestic jet engine too.
The Albatroz Vortex UAV is equipped with an ATJR 15-5 engine, which is a development of the Brazilian company AERO Concepts. According to tecnologia&defensa, the first flight of the drone took place within the framework of an agreement on cooperation in technological development agreed in November 2025 with the support of the Ministry of Defense of the Federative Republic of Brazil as well as the Brazilian Air Force.
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The project involves the research, development and creation of engines with a thrust of up to 5000 N for UAVs (the ATJR 15-5 engine has a thrust of 500 N). The cooperation agreement between the engine and UAV manufacturers was signed back in 2024.
The first flight of the Albatroz Vortex UAV with the ATJR 15-5 engine took place in December 2025 – it is stated that during the tests the ability of the jet engine to operate in real flight conditions, as well as its integration with the aerial vehicle was confirmed.
Stella Tecnologia positions the Albatroz Vortex UAV as a universal aviation platform designed to perform various tasks and can operate from unprepared runways, the length of which is less than 150 m, as well as from aircraft carriers.
This UAV, which has a maximum take-off weight of 150 kg, can carry from 5 to 30 kg of payload. The length of the UAV reaches 4 m, the wingspan is 7 m. The flight time is up to 24 hours, the range is 150-250 km.
As Defense Express reported, earlier Brazil restored 17 Cold War M60 tanks from storage after postponing Leopard 1 upgrades. We also wrote, that Brazil picked obscure Italian air defense.
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