Page 13 - AAA NOV / DEC 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP

Brimming with Promise

Cargo drones of all sizes will soon dot the skies

By Arun Sivasankaran

he cargo drone sector is The San Francisco Bay Area unveiled in November 2022, is
growing at a rapid pace, company is developing autono- capable of flying through light rain
T fuelled by multiple factors mous, fixed-wing, hybrid, eVTOL and have twice the range of ear-
such as acceleration of auton- cargo aircraft that has a cargo lier models. The agency granted a
omous and AI technologies, capacity of 100 and 500 pounds, similar waiver for Amazon’s Prime
the exponential increase in a range of 600 miles, and a speed Air program in May, though that
e-commerce, improvements in of 150 mph. The company is also was limited to flights in College
propulsion system technologies planning to demonstrate flights to Station, Texas.
that allows drones to fly farther the U.S. Air Force, showcasing
for longer, and the falling price of its autonomous loading, unload- Amazon is competing with
lithium-ion batteries. ing, and balancing of packages Wing, owned by Google parent
In April this year, MightyFly, a capabilities. Alphabet, UPS, Walmart, and
company developing autono- startups such as Zipline and
mous cargo aircraft for expedited In early November, Amazon Matternet to gain a share of the
logistics, became the first large announced that it had regula- drone delivery market. With so
autonomous cargo eVTOL com- tory approval from the Federal many significant tailwinds, the
pany to receive an FAA flight Aviation Administration (FAA) to cargo drone industry is projected
corridor approval in the U.S. The fly a smaller, quieter version of its to grow from US$1.53 billion in
company has since made rapid MK30 delivery drone over longer 2024 to US$ 8.92 billion by 2030,
progress with its flight-testing pro- distances and beyond the visual at a CAGR of 34.2%. Eager to
gram involving its Cento aircraft. line of sight of pilots. The drone, cash in on skyrocketing demand,
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2024 | 13