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Digital learning environments create a dynamic and engaging learning and teaching context that promotes a deeper understanding of complex concepts, eases the teaching process and fosters a passion for learning. Moreover, integrating interactive materials into pilot courses can assist teachers in better assessing student learning and adjusting their teaching strategies accordingly. The teachers can also receive valuable insights into students’ strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to provide targeted support and intervention when needed. For students from the defence and security fields, digital learning environments can create realistic simulations and virtual training scenarios that allow students to practise their skills in a controlled and safe environment, develop hands-on experience, and enhance their decision-making abilities without the need for real-world training exercises. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to introduce an approach for solving mathematical problems embedded in technical scenarios within the defence and security fields with the aid of digital technology using different software environments such as Python, Matlab, or SolidWorks. In this way, students can visualise abstract concepts, experiment with different scenarios, and receive instant feedback on their understanding. At the same time, the use of didactic and interactive materials can increase the interest among students and teachers for utilising mathematical models and digital technologies in the educational process. This paper also helps to reinforce key concepts and enhance problem-solving skills, sparking curiosity and creativity, and encouraging active participation and collaboration. Throughout the development of this proposal, based on survey analysis, good practices are presented, and advice for improvement is collected while having a wide range of users giving feedback, and participating in discussions and testing (pilot) short-term learning/teaching/training activities.

Today, there is a conspicuous upward trend for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially in the field of multirotor drones. Their advantages over fixed-wing aircrafts are that they can hover, which allows their usage in a wide range of remote surveillance applications: industrial, strategic, governmental, public and homeland security. Moreover, because the component market for this type of vehicles is in continuous growth, new concepts have emerged to improve the stability and reliability of the multicopters, but efficient solutions with reduced costs are still expected. This work is focused on hexacopter UAV tests carried out on an original platform both within laboratory and on unrestricted open areas during the start–stop manoeuvres of the motors to verify the operational parameters, hover flight, the drone stability and reliability, as well as the aerodynamics and robustness at different wind speeds. The flight parameters extracted from the sensor systems’ comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometers, GPS antenna and EO/IR cameras were analysed, and adjustments were performed accordingly, when needed. An FEM simulation approach allowed an additional decision support platform that expanded the experiments in the virtual environment. Finally, practical conclusions were drawn to enhance the hexacopter UAV stability, reliability and manoeuvrability.

The problem developed in this paper is encountered in airplane aerodynamics and concernsthe influence of long life longitudinal wake vortices generated by wing tips or by external obstaclessuch as reactors or landing gears. More generally it concerns 3D bodies of finite extension in crossflow. At the edge of such obstacles, longitudinal vortices are created by pressure differences inside theboundary layers and rotate in opposite senses. It can constitute a danger to another aircraft that fliesin this wake, especially during takeoff and landing. In this case the wake vortex trajectories andstrengths are altered by ground interactions. This study presents the results of a Large EddySimulation of wake vortex in ground effect providing the vorticity flux behavior.