Melbourne, Australia: Swoop Aero has partnered with the drone services subsidiary of heavy air logistics specialist Astral Aviation and drone operations partner Skyports, to launch a drone logistics network in Kenya. Swoop Aero’s experience operating drone logistics networks in 7 countries alongside their native technology platform will be employed to transport medicines, vaccines, and medical samples between healthcare facilities and patients in need across Kenya, beginning with last-mile delivery by the end of 2022. These operations present a first for the region, encompassing the first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight and operation demonstration approvals, launched in close coordination with the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safety and compliance with local regulations.
Swoop Aero will deploy its complete technology infrastructure and drone logistics experience in this latest endeavour with local Kenyan experts Astral Aerial Solutions operating the network, closely in partnership with drone infrastructure provider, Skyports, to rapidly improve access to routine and emergency medicine, vaccines and pathology in the region.
“We’re excited to be expanding Swoop Aero’s service in Kenya in partnership with Astral Aerial Solutions and Skyports, in what will be a first for the region. Kenya represents the 14th country in which the Swoop Aero technology platform has underpinned BVLOS drone logistics regulatory approvals. The regulatory approvals and operations will bring Swoop Aero closer to providing an integrated drone logistics service to 100 million people by 2025”, said Eric Peck, CEO of Swoop Aero.
The partnership will extend the reach of Swoop Aero’s existing integrated logistics platform, supporting the transport of medical samples and supplies with cold-chain delivery, as well as remote access operations and ease of integration into the region’s existing healthcare network with minimal need for additional infrastructure.
Kenyan-based drone operator, Astral Aerial Solutions, brings a history of local aviation expertise and in collaboration with Swoop Aero’s leading integrated drone logistics platform, will provide a world-class healthcare solution to clients in the first and last mile. “We’re excited to be coming together with Skyports and Swoop Aero to offer last-mile delivery solutions in Kenya. This partnership presents a unique opportunity to reduce delivery times and increase accessibility to healthcare and other industries that may support drone logistics into the future.”, said Kush Gadhia, CEO Astral Aerial Solutions.
Skyports has previously partnered with Swoop Aero to deliver and distribute COVID-19 commodities across the UK, saving over 11,000 hours of pathology wait time with flights spanning a distance of 14,000km. Speaking on their newest venture, Skyports’ Alex Brown, Director Drone Services said, “This week Astral Aerial Solutions, Swoop Aero and Skyports flew Kenya’s first Beyond Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries. These first flights represent the key first step of our plan to bring drone deliveries to Kenyan communities, improving connectivity, logistics and healthcare”.
Drone integration into the Kenyan healthcare system through this partnership presents a significant opportunity for improved access to healthcare across Kenya, with capacity for the scalable and sustainable provision of services and supplies. With initial operations focused specifically on medical supplies and the healthcare sector, Swoop Aero will develop additional applications for drone logistics across the country in the coming months. The addition of the Kite
aircraft to Swoop Aero’s technology platform supports real-time tracking, capture, and analytics, and will further enable additional cross-industry functionalities, including aerial mapping and monitoring, search and rescue capabilities, as well as emergency response and disaster management.
In partnership with TerryWhite Chemmart and Symbion Pty Ltd, the pilot operates from the town of Goondiwindi, located on the Queensland/New South Wales border, and will reduce critical journey times for routine and emergency health supplies, as well as overcoming the tyranny of distance commonly felt by regional communities at the “last mile” of the health supply chain.
Flooding, border restrictions or simply short on time? Swoop Aero’s system provides access to what you need when you need it. Get in touch today to find out how to have your pharmacy items flown to you.
If you’re interested to see the platform in action come and join us at the Goondiwindi airport this Wednesday and Thursday from 8.30-9.00 am.
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or email us at [email protected] to find out more.
Swoop Aero’s autonomous eVTOL aircraft will be integrated in UAVaid’s mixed-fleet drone offering in Sierra Leone and complement UAVaid’s long-range fixed-wing HANSARD drones.
“As sustainable drone logistics continues to cement its place in LMIC and high resourced markets alike, combining complementary technology opens opportunities to deepen the role of air mobility in supply chains,” said Swoop Aero’s CEO and co-founder Eric Peck.
“Integration is key to solving complex supply chain challenges. That’s why, in all our operations, we ensure our platform seamlessly integrates to generate real impact – be that with adjacent logistics solutions, existing supply chain systems, processes and technology or the local health system and communities. We are excited to have the agility of the Swoop Aero platform support UAVaid’s service offering in the Sierra Leone market, complementing the capabilities of their long-range fixed-wing Hansard drone.”
“With market-leading safety record and eVTOL capabilities, we are delighted to be able to complement our long-range HANSARD platform, with Swoop Aero’s eVTOL systems in the Sierra Leone market. This partnership brings new and exciting capabilities to our service offering and, by broadening the range of use-cases we can support in this market, we are able to provide solutions to an even wider range of needs experienced by the local population, particularly around medical logistics. This may include medical sample collection for disease surveillance or improved diagnostic testing” said UAVAid co-founder James Ronen.
“With such a good fit of complementary technologies, we look forward to working with Swoop Aero and expanding the scope of collaboration between us in this and other markets.”
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Swoop Aero, the Melbourne-headquartered drone logistics company, expands African drone delivery networks while the pandemics endures to increase access to essential medical supplies and prepare for distribution of COVID-19 vaccine.
In collaboration with NGO partners and governments of The Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and now Mozambique, Swoop Aero are implementing scalable drone delivery networks across three countries in Africa, and are on track for further growth across the continent. The drone logistics networks are enabling all communities to have access to essential medications and vaccines at a time when rapid transportation of medical goods is more critical than ever.
Swoop Aero’s operations in Mozambique commenced in March 2020, and despite significant mobility challenges associated with COVID-19, was finalised in October 2020. The Pilot flight operation alongside their NGO partners, was the first of three phases to deploy medical logistics into the Mozambique health system; and, it included transport of 140 COVID-19 samples, 160 TB samples, which directly benefited 100,000 people within the region. Mozambique is the third consecutive country in which Swoop Aero was the first organisation ever to have obtained long-range flight approvals (Beyond Visual Line of Sight).
“Having our teams safely travel overseas and continue delivering was a challenge, but not one we shied away from” says Peck “Our commitment to delivering a drone-enabled health logistics service in the toughest environments doesn’t stop when a pandemic starts, and our customers can trust us on that”.
Following the success of the phase 1 pilot In Mozambique; a study assessing the safety, feasibility and community acceptance of medical drone deliveries was completed this month and the results are positive.
‘This is a major step towards drone integration into the national health system and we look forward to working with local communities to roll out our networks across Mozambique.’ Mozambique is the third consecutive country in which Swoop Aero obtained long-range flight approvals (Beyond Visual Line of Sight).
Since Late 2019, Swoop Aero’s networks in the north and south of Malawi have allowed the movement of essential supplies throughout the annual flood season where roads become congested or inoperative. In Malawi to date, Swoop has delivered over 1200kg of essential supplies and made 67 life-saving emergency deliveries to date. Pilot networks were deployed with funding from US AID, UK AID and UNICEF under the direction of the Malawian Ministry of Health.
The company sees a significant opportunity for drone logistics to strengthen existing transport services and effectively distribute the COVID-19 vaccine and related supplies. ‘Our networks are rapidly scalable and can be deployed when and where they are needed,’ says Eric Peck, Swoop Aero CEO. ‘When the pandemic unfolded in March 2020, we tripled our fleet of aircraft in Malawi and increased our locally hired workforce to manage and pilot the network, delivering COVID-19 testing kits, face masks and PPE.’ says Peck.
More recently, in January 2021 following several months of under the radar operations, Swoop officially launched a routine drone delivery service in the Democratic Republic of Congo in collaboration with the DRC Ministry of Health and NGO partner VillageReach with funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, the Crown Family. In the first three months of operations, more than 20,000 vaccine doses have been delivered across hundreds of long range flights, allowing thousands of children to be vaccinated by transporting both immunization products and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Swoop Aero also trained a full local team complement including operators and pilots, alongside 16 health facility staff.
Closer to home Swoop is on track to launch regional Australia’s first medical drone network later this year, and is eyeing the opportunity to leverage their service to assist communities in overcoming natural disasters like floods and bushfires. CEO Eric Peck emphasises that drone logistics aren’t just for rural areas but also have a significant role to play in creating vibrant and healthier urban communities, “We’ve seen the impact of drone logistics with our African operations. Creating healthier communities is at the core of what we do; we see a huge opportunity in using drone logistics to create healthier cities.”
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