August 2 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian middle-mile cargo drone manufacturer Dronamics said it is entering the UK market by joining a consortium led by local airport owner AGS Airports that is developing a project for the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies across Scotland.
The consortium, Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland (CAELUS), has secured a UK government grant of 10.1 million pounds ($12.3 million/12.1 million euro) to advance the development of the UK's first drone distribution network, which will transport essential pharmaceutical supplies, blood for transfusion and organs for transplant across Scotland, including remote rural communities, Dronamics said in a press release on Monday.
Dronamics will contribute its Black Swan long-range cargo drone to the CAELUS project. The drone can carry loads of up to 350 kg at a range of up to 2,500 km. Planned flight trials are set to be completed by 2024.
"This is an excellent opportunity for us to kick off operations in the UK by leveraging our authorisation experience in the EU with EASA. The flight trials for NHS Scotland would also validate our ongoing product development towards delivering medical goods," Dronamics CEO and co-founder Svilen Rangelov said.
In May, the Bulgarian company became the first drone cargo airline to obtain an EU-wide operating licence from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The consortium is made up of 16 partners, including NHS Scotland, a division of Britain's National Health Service (NHS), local agency National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
AGS Airports is the owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports. The company, set up in 2014, is owned by Spanish transport infrastructure group Ferrovial and Australian financial services group Macquarie.
Last month, Dronamics said it will work with Australian aerospace components manufacturer Quickstep Holdings Ltd to ramp up production of the Black Swan, targeting first delivery in 2023.
(1 British pound = 1.195 euro)