Flying forward: Integrating cargo drones beyond health care

In October 2021, U.K.-based drone delivery provider Skyports launched medical drone delivery trials in partnership with carrier Irelandia Aviation for shipments like vaccines, HIV tests and pathology samples, across Colombia, with flights expected to commence later this year. Earlier in August, the U.S.’ first vaccine drone delivery program was launched by North Carolina-based health system Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and health-tech company IQ Healthtech Labs using Matternet M2 drones operated by UPS and its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary. These are just a few of the ways drone shipments have been utilized for health care shipments, which have surged since the start of the pandemic. “Globally, we are already seeing commercial [unmanned aerial vehicles] (UAVs) being tested for the delivery of medical equipment and, in some cases, organs for donation,” Philip Binks, head of air traffic management at England-based aviation technology company Altitude Angel, told Air Cargo World . “In the U.K., the [National Health Service] were using UAVs to deliver COVID-19 test, PPE and even vaccines to remote communities. In Canada, we recently saw the world’s first-ever lung transplant where the organ was delivered by a drone.” Especially in the wake of a pandemic, life-saving medical supplies like testing kits and vaccines are needed more than ever — and are now able to be rapidly delivered to rurally situated medical centers or communities. However, medical shipments aren’t the only cargo to benefit from time-sensitive deliveries. What happens when the world is primarily vaccinated and the pandemic slowly comes to an end, with demand easing for personal protective equipment (PPE), masks or COVID-19 tests? So much development and time has been invested into drone technology that it begs the question of how else it may be utilized in the industry. In other words, what lies beyond the scope of medical shipments? Doors of possibility Indeed, while many cargo stakeholders continue to utilize drones for medical shipments, especially in a time when face-to-face contacts pose health risks, the ability for drones to successfully transport time-sensitive shipments opens possibilities beyond health care. E-commerce shipments have been on the rise for some time, and the pandemic has only amplified the trend, prompting an insatiable surge in e-commerce demand which has yet to plateau. In the U.S. alone, e-commerce growth increased by 21% in 2020, 16% in the first eight months of 2021, and increased 39% compared to the same period in 2019, according to the latest e-commerce report from Cargo Facts Consulting. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to encourage consumers away from brick-and-mortar stores, they have turned toward online purchases. Subsequently, if 2021 was the year of pharma deliveries via UAVs, 2022 may be the era of commercial cargo deliveries. In 2021 alone, many industry operators expressed interest in launching cargo operations for consumer cargo, including express carrier DHL. In July 2021 DHL selected UAV developer Dronamics for its middle-mile drone partner in an effort to provide same-day cargo drone deliveries to consumers using Dronamics’ Black Swan drone, which made its debut on Dec. 7 at Sofia International Airport (SOF) in Bulgaria . Similarly, Japan-based ANA Holdings, parent of All Nippon Airways, also explored the possibility of drone operations with Germany-based Wingcoptor with the intention of developing a delivery network for both pharmaceutical and consumer products. Meanwhile, e-tail giant Amazon was approved by the U.S. government in 2020 to operate as a drone airline. In addition to e-commerce, Altitude Angel’s Binks envisions cargo operations being used for more “ordinary, door-to-door deliveries.” This includes mail packages and food, which are already being trialed in the U.S. and Ireland, he added. “Remote areas, such as the Orkney Islands [in Scotland], which currently rely on infrequent cargo plane deliveries for mail, could see especially large benefits,” Binks said. In fact, FedEx partnered with Walgreens and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, in 2019 to deliver not just health care products, but food and other items to residents in southwest Virginia Drone operations are also being explored for other applications, as well. Malaysian cargo carrier Raya Airways in September entered a proof-of-commercialization (POC) stage of cargo drone deliveries in partnership with UAV provider Pen Aviation and DHL Express. In turn, DHL Express expects to help streamline port logistics using cargo drones , providing first- and last-mile distribution for goods between cargo ship decks at commercial ports. Likewise, Dronamics and forwarder Hellmann Worldwide Logistics partnered in summer 2021 to develop a middle-mile delivery network in Europe for time-critical goods , including automotive and marine spare parts. “It may take some time, but that's how I see it – [cargo drones are] just another new mode of transportation,” UPS’ Luckett said. Flying forward The disarray of the supply chain paired with aging aircraft and pilot shortages creates the perfect setting for drones as the next step in aviation, whether it be UAV or electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Luckett added. “When you think of eVTOLs, we actually change the transportation model at that point,” Luckett said. “Instead of flying to the general aviation airport, we’ll actually fly from the jet direct to a UPS center. … It speeds up our time and transit, making it more efficient and we reduce that interim ground shuttle movement to get the volume there.” While the possibilities and potential for drone operations appear endless, the unchartered territory comes with challenges. Like most emerging technology, drone operations can be expensive, however, as operations continue to develop and gain investment, prices will become more affordable, UPS’ Luckett said. “As [cargo drone operations] matures, prices will come down and it’ll make more sense for more goods,” Luckett said. “So, we’ll look at things like new services that could include same-day, same-hour type services on demand with retail options that go well beyond health care.” Regulatory environments have also been difficult to navigate, impacting the implementation of drone operations in some countries. In turn, drone utilization is often contingent on where licenses can be obtained, according to panelists at Cargo Facts Symposium 2021 . For instance, while drones are meant to connect rural communities in places like Africa or the Orkney Islands, each location may have different regulatory standards, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Chief Operating Officer of Airfreight Jan Kleine-Lasthues said during the panel. In addition to UPS Flight Forward’s operations in South Carolina, the drone operator also uses the Matternet M2 drones to deliver prescription medications from a CVS pharmacy to a retirement community in Florida . However, the company also hopes to launch international operations internationally. “One of the things we’ve seen so far is Australia, specifically, has been a good location when it comes to [unmanned aircraft system] (UAS) operations [because] they seem to be making more headway with regulators there than we have been able to make in the United States,” UPS’ Luckett explained. “We’ve looked at other locations that have expressed interest; places like Singapore have come up as a possibility.” While UPS Flight Forward is interested in what international operations could bring to the table, licensing and approval is complex in certain locations, especially with regard to cross-border transactions, Luckett added. “In many cases [cross border transactions] will involve more than one regulatory authority, so that’s a challenge that we’ll have to face,” Luckett said. “That’s where you think about Australia [which has] one regulatory body for airspace [and] a large territory to cover, so I think that’s one of the things that helps make [Australia] attractive.” The new normal While there is hope that the pandemic is temporary, the resulting trends amplified by COVID-19 have created a “new normal,” according to Luckett. In turn, the demand for cargo drones that was prompted by the pandemic is here to stay. Looking forward, Alabama-based autonomous space drone and software developer Aevum obtained a patent in 2021 with plans to utilize its autonomous launch system to tap into last-mile airfreight needs , starting this year. Meanwhile, Dronamics has selected Malta as its first operational base in Europe for same-day and middle-mile drone operations, expected to launch in 2022. After establishing initial commercial cargo routes between Malta and Italy using its Black Swan drones, Dronamics plans to launch routes to other Mediterranean destinations, and eventually throughout Europe. However, as drone stakeholders continue to navigate challenges such as regulatory environments and technological setbacks, the next step is figuring out how drone operators plug into the larger model of airfreight, especially when guidelines, procedures and licensing lacks standardization from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The way I see the drone operations in the future, I believe it becomes an ecosystem that integrates with other existing modes of transportation. And when we look at use cases, not everything needs to fly, but there are there are things and time constraints that make sense for flying volume,” Luckett said. “It may take some time, but ... this is a just another new mode of transportation [and] companies like [UPS] will evaluate what's the most cost effective and economical way to provide our service in the in the best way possible, and that'll dictate what mode we use.”

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