Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline, is constructing a fleet of long-range, fuel-efficient drones which will provide same-day shipping over long distances. The company plans to launch commercial operations in Europe in 2023.
Two brothers from Bulgaria, Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov, co-founded Dronamics while trying to solve an apparently simple yet complex question: how to lower the cost of airfreight and transport packages quickly and reliably across Europe?
“We couldn’t buy into the concept of small drones. We took a different approach,” Svilen Rangelov said.
Built just like a conventional light aircraft minus the pilot’s cabin, the drone combines “cell phone economics” in terms of cheap electronics, with the capacity to land on short runways, highlighted Rangelov. The Rangelov brothers plan to name the cargo drone the Black Swan.
Dronamics aims to democratize air freight, by enabling affordable, and sustainable same-day delivery for businesses and communities everywhere, especially remote and under-served ones.
Black Swan features
- 16-meter wingspan
- It can carry a load of 350kg at a distance of up to 2,500km (1,550 miles)
- Operate with 60% lower carbon emissions
- Cost almost half the budget of alternative means of transport like air freight
The aircraft, which will be mass-produced in Germany and Australia, runs on 100% sustainable aviation fuel, making it the “fastest and greenest” way of carrying cargo. This will result in 60% lower emissions.
The small, remotely-piloted aircraft can land on short and unpaved runways meaning point-to-point and speedy flights to remote locations that would otherwise take days to reach.
It will charge by weight or charter, cutting out the cost and time taken by vehicles that crisscross Europe to deliver essential goods and parts.
Cost-effective shipping
The use of cargo drones will offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional shipping via trucks, according to the co-founder of the company. Shipping a smaller load to a short airstrip closer to the final recipient will prove to be more cost-effective and would take trucks off the road, he added.
“Here in Bulgaria, air cargo means one large aircraft offloading goods onto a truck which then goes to a sorting center where the delivery is broken down for the next stage of its journey to individual sites.”
“There are 3,000 airstrips across Europe, that’s a lot of locations,” he said further.
European Innovation grant
In November 2022, Dronamics was awarded a €2.5 million grant by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. This will support the development and rollout of Dronamics’ cargo drone fleet, the deployment of the first droneports in its network as well as operations in Europe – home to millions who live in territories that often take days to reach by traditional freight.
Dronamics is Europe’s first licensed cargo drone airline and IATA’s first Strategic Partner for drones worldwide.