February 1 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian cargo drone airline Dronamics awarded Australian aerospace components manufacturer Quickstep Holdings a contract for the production and supply of Dronamics' unmanned cargo aircraft Black Swan, Quickstep said.
The anticipated value of the agreement is likely to range between AU$4.5 million ($3.18 million/2.91 million euro) and AU$5.5 million, Quickstep said in a press release on Monday.
The contract, which was secured by Quickstep’s unit Aerostructures, covers engineering and supply of 10 initial aircraft. Three of the drones will be delivered by October 2023 and the remaining seven by July 2024. The contract award also offers potential for thousands of aircraft to be built for the global market, Quickstep said.
The initial agreement is the result of several months of negotiations after the two companies first announced a manufacturing memorandum of understanding in July 2022.
The Black Swan is a large, unmanned aircraft designed to be capable of carrying 350 kg of cargo over distances in excess of 2,500 km.
In November 2022, Dronamics secured a grant of 2.5 million euro ($2.73 million) from the European Commission to help fund the development and commercialisation of its cargo drone fleet in Europe. The company is currently also preparing for a Series A fundraising round expected to take place in 2023.
($ = 0.9170 euro)