NACUAS Profile

The National Centre for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (NACUAS) is a national drone Centre of Excellence hosted at the University of Zambia. It emerged from the EU-UNZA-ZCAA collaboration under the ASSPII-Z Technical Support Project, implemented with technical support from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to strengthen Zambia's capacity in drone/UAV research, safe operations, training, regulation support and applied innovation. NACUAS serves as a coordinated hub for drone-enabled data, Earth Observation, geospatial intelligence, GeoAI, training, technology development, policy support and practical services across priority sectors.

The Centre connects academia, Government, regulators, industry, communities and development partners to develop solutions in urban planning, infrastructure, agriculture, environmental monitoring, mining, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and public-service delivery. Its approach moves beyond image acquisition: priorities are co-defined with users, operations are governed by safety and regulatory requirements, data are processed into decision-ready products, and outputs are interpreted with institutions and communities that will use them. NACUAS also builds long-term national capability through postgraduate research, the Level 1 training pathway, visiting scholars, innovation through TerraNova Lab, and strategic partnerships for responsible, inclusive and sustainable UAS adoption.

Zambia's large geographic area, dispersed settlements, rapid urban growth, climate-related hazards, infrastructure monitoring needs, agricultural transformation priorities and increasing demand for timely spatial intelligence create a strong case for coordinated national UAS capability. Before NACUAS, drone adoption was fragmented across institutions and projects, with gaps in skills, operational coordination, data governance, standards, research translation and sustainable capacity building. The ASSPII-Z technical support process involving UNZA and the Zambia Civil Aviation Authority (ZCAA) helped define the need for a national Centre capable of bringing research, training, regulatory support, innovation and applied services into one coordinated platform.

NACUAS therefore addresses both a technology opportunity and an institutional need: it develops local expertise, supports responsible and lawful operations, improves access to high-resolution evidence for planning and service delivery, builds pathways for innovation and indigenous capability, and creates a national convening space for Government, academia, communities, industry and development partners.