A grand reception and press briefing were held today (Tuesday) at the Dhaka campus of the Aviation and Aerospace University, Bangladesh (AAUB), in honour of the university team’s remarkable performance in the International Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition 2025, held in Arizona, USA.

AAUB, the country’s only o)specialized public university in the aviation and aerospace sector, participated for the first time in the DBF competition organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) from April 10 to 13.

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The university team secured 18th place in the Design Report and ranked 36th overall, earning international recognition for both the institution and Bangladesh.

The success came under the inspiration and guidance of the Chief of Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan and overall supervision of AAUB Vice Chancellor Air Vice Marshal A K M Manirul Bahar, says an ISPR media release.

The reception was attended by the Vice Chancellor, senior officers of the Bangladesh Air Force, and officials from the Ministry of Education.

In addition to the DBF success, AAUB has achieved several other milestones, including the successful launch of a Cube Satellite Balloon, securing 2nd runner-up position in the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge, and qualifying for the final round of the CanSat competition.

AAUB's newly developed UAVs, capable of carrying internal and external payloads and launching an engine-less glider that can land precisely at defined GPS coordinates, have also demonstrated notable advancements.

Ahead of the final competition, the UAV completed 21 training missions.

A demonstration flight, attended by the Chief of Air Staff as Chief Guest, was successfully conducted on February 25.

The UAVs are expected to contribute to automatic surveillance, disaster management, agriculture, and other national sectors in the future.