Overwatch Wildfire Pilot Demonstration in Portugal
The first of two pilot demonstrations of the Overwatch project took place in Portugal on 28-30 October 2025. The exercise was conducted at the Santa Margarita Military Camp and the Emergency Military Support Unit in Abrantes, simulating response actions to a large-scale wildfire.
The main objective of the demonstration was to test all key components of the Overwatch system, with particular focus on:
- ensuring resilient emergency communications through the Fallback Connectivity module – a tethered drone with satellite backhaul that provides an aerial Wi-Fi hotspot when terrestrial networks are unavailable,
- supporting decision-making via the Overwatch platform dashboard, integrating satellite- and drone-based data and products, as well as the Augmented Reality module which enables the visualisation of geospatial data in a 3D environment,
- acquiring and making available reliable and accurate geospatial information about the ongoing emergency situation.
End-users from the Portuguese National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority participating in the demo had the opportunity to test the solutions and to provide feedback on their usability and performance.
More information about the Overwatch solutions is available on the project website.
The second demonstration, focused on a flood scenario, will be organised by CBK PAN in Poland in Q1 2026.
