Occitanie Regional Group

" 3AFOCCITANIE, A STORY OF PASSION!

Welcome to 3AF Occitanie! One of the cradles of the aerospace industry in France!

Our 3AF friends from Languedoc-Roussillon have officially joined us since the 3AF General Assembly on June 26. We're delighted to welcome them and will be taking advantage of the ONERA Alumni Symposium in Montpellier in early October 2024 to meet them and discuss a new roadmap together.

Occitanie is France's leading aeronautics region, and the leading centre for higher education and research in this sector: in Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse and its region represent Europe's leading aeronautics cluster with the AIRBUS Group, and the space industry with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales. Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence & Space are two of the world's leading manufacturers of telecoms and Earth observation satellites, and ONERA, the national aerospace research laboratory, boasts unique testing facilities. Toulouse is home to leading aerospace schools such as ISAE-Sup 'Aero and ENAC.

The Languedoc-Roussillon region is home to ENAC and numerous SME/SMIs working for major manufacturers based in Occitanie (commercial aircraft and space) or Provence (helicopters). The Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM), supported by the Van Allen Foundation, is one of France's most active university space centers, and has already designed, built and successfully launched several nanosatellites.

In these few pages, written by a passionate team resolutely focused on new projects that complement existing ones, we are highlighting our priority: to strengthen our support and awareness-raising initiatives for young people, students and young professionals in the aerospace industry.

For many years, 3AF Occitanie has been hosted by ISAE-SUPAERO, and our aim is to

firstly, to strengthen our interface and support for various student projects. We're continuing in the same vein with ENAC and ENSSEIHT. We're also keen to extend our activities to new "grandes écoles" as well as high schools and colleges.

Another key focus of our efforts to support our young people is to develop our interface with start-ups and SMEs in the Occitanie region, and to identify more precisely our value, as a learned society, to these companies.

Before handing over my pen, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the members of our office for their dynamism and investment in our various projects.

As you can see, 3AF Occitanie is a great place to live and work together!

Find out more about who we are by taking a closer look at our projects and actions.

Happy reading!"

Sandrine Basa Rolland

President, Groupe Régional 3AF Occitanie

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE REGIONAL GROUP

Toulouse, the birthplace of aviation pioneers, was to be the first regional 3AF group to be formed after Paris. As early as 1972, the year the association was born, Toulouse-based enthusiasts from Latécoère and Sud Aviation formed the initial nucleus.

The small group has grown, organizing conferences and visits to establishments, as well as some exceptional actions:

- in 1988, a visit to the Centre Spatial Guyanais (with members of the Bordeaux group) at the initiative of its Director André Rémondière, then Chairman of the Regional Group.

- in 2001, hosting of the International Astronautical Congress (IAF) with 1,200 participants.

Its 2026 edition will take place in Bordeaux, organized by the 3AF and SEE Nouvelle Aquitaine regional groups.

► The ERTS'2024 conference was held at Diagora, Labège in mid-June 2024, and brought together 250 delegates to discuss the reliability and certification of computer code, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and real-time embedded hardware and software in general. The next edition is scheduled for 2026.

► The ETTC'2023 conference was held at the Centre de Congrès Pierre Baudis in Toulouse in mid-June 2023, and brought together 200 delegates to showcase applications and advances in teletransmission and aerospace measurement techniques and equipment. The 2025 edition has just been launched. Even-numbered years' editions are held in Nuremberg, Germany.

Finally, with local partners such as the Académie de l'Air et de l'Espace, l'Amicale de la Cité de l'Espace, ISAE, ENAC and even Airbus and Safran, the Occitanie RG organizes conferences and round tables at least once a month.

In addition, the regional group, in partnership with European sister organizations, the Aquitaine regional group and SEE regional branches, has created and developed congresses with an international audience:

- ETTC, or European Test and Telemetry Conference, has been around for over thirty years.

- ERTS, Embedded Real Time System since 2004 and more recently,

- MEA stands for More Electric Aircraft, and is dedicated to electrical technologies in aeronautics, equipment and propulsion.

► MEA2024 was held at ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse at the beginning of February, bringing together 240 delegates who presented the latest advances in power electronics, wiring, electric motorization, electric actuators, electric de-icing systems, electric air conditioning, the design of more or all-electric aircraft and the decarbonization of air transport in general.

NEW PROJECTS ARE UNDERWAY, IN PARTICULAR THE ORGANIZATION OF A PRIZE

Groupe Régional 3AF Occitanie is preparing to organize an aerospace innovation competition for 2025. Called the GRAND PRIX Innovation Aerospatiale Occitanie 2025, this competition will be aimed at young people with innovative projects that add significant value and have been successfully applied.

The award will be presented to an individual who, through his or her actions and impact, has made a significant contribution to the development of this promising innovation for the aerospace sector. One prize will be awarded to a woman and one to a man.

The IAO GRAND PRIX will be awarded at an international event, the highlight of the innovation competition. Media and institutional partnerships are being sought to raise the profile of the Grand Prix and place it among the best competitions in the aerospace industry.

SIMILARLY, THE REGIONAL GROUP HAS LAUNCHED INITIATIVES AIMED AT START-UPS.

The 3AF Occitanie regional group is organizing a crucial seminar in October with ISAE-Sup 'Aero.

on the decarbonization of aviation. This event highlights the technological advances made by regional start-ups, major manufacturers and research centers in the field of sustainable aviation.

Concrete solutions for low-carbon aviation are illustrated by innovations from AuraAéro, Beyond-Aéro and Ascendance-Flight Technologies, respectively pioneers in electric aviation, hydrogen-powered business aircraft and hybrid-powered VTOL solutions.

Aerospace giants Airbus and Safran share their views on the challenges of decarbonizing commercial aviation, hybrid-electric propulsion and the development of more environmentally-friendly engines.

Research is at the heart of innovation, thanks to work by ONERA on sustainable aviation and ISAE-Sup'Aero on the aviation and climate reference framework. A round table of experts addresses the challenges of decarbonization and proposes solutions, encouraging dialogue between industry players. The seminar also offers networking opportunities, essential for stimulating innovation.

Beyond the technological aspect, such an event aims to raise awareness of climate issues and the importance of sustainable solutions for aviation. It also seeks to inspire engineering students to move into sustainable aeronautics, showcasing opportunities in this fast-growing field.