DRONAMICS joins consortium to power medical deliveries for NHS Scotland
The consortium is developing the first national drone network capable of transporting essential medicines, blood, and other medical supplies throughout Scotland, especially to remote communities.
The project has secured £10.1 million in funding from the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
DRONAMICS will participate in the CAELUS project, a consortium of partners aiming to transform the way healthcare is delivered in Scotland. CAELUS is a collaboration led by AGS Airports that will design and test the United Kingdom's first national delivery network that will use drones to distribute crucial medications, blood, organs, and other medical supplies throughout Scotland.
CAELUS (Care & Equity - Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland) has acquired over £10 million ($12 million) in funding from UK Research and Innovation's Future Flight Challenge (UKRI). The CAELUS partnership is working to build a national drone delivery network for medical supplies throughout Scotland. CAELUS is establishing a national drone network for medical delivery in Scotland with 16 partners, including AGS Airports (Glasgow and Aberdeen Airports), NHS Scotland, the University of Strathclyde, and National Air Traffic Services (NATS).
Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said, "The CAELUS project is set to revolutionize the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. A drone network can ensure critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, it can reduce waiting times for test results and, more importantly, it can provide equity of care between urban and remote rural communities."
The project's official launch was revealed at the Farnborough Airshow. DRONAMICS will work with the consortium to power time-critical medical deliveries in the middle mile using its "Black Swan" cargo drone, which has a range of up to 2,500km and can carry up to 350kg. Flight tests are expected to be completed by 2024.
Svilen Rangelov, CEO and Co-founder of DRONAMICS, said, "This is an excellent opportunity for us to kick-off operations in the UK by leveraging our authorization experience in the EU with EASA. The flight trials for NHS Scotland would also validate our ongoing product development towards delivering medical goods. We have seen that our solution could be vital for remote communities in Scotland, drastically decreasing the transit time for medical supplies."
The project is funded under the Future Flight Challenge, the UKRI-led investment program that has committed £125 million ($149 million) into the next wave of aviation tech.
