Australia-based aerospace company Quickstep ventured into a partnership with Dronamics, a European middle-mile cargo drone developer and operator.
Under a memorandum of understanding, Quickstep will deliver engineering and manufacturing services to accelerate Dronamics’ manufacturing of Black Swan cargo drones.
The first aircraft unit is expected to be delivered within 2023, with plans to progressively increase production over the next four years.
The two companies’ partnership was announced at Farnborough International Airshop yesterday.
“Quickstep shares Dronamic’s passion for innovation and this is an exciting partnership. We are delighted to be taking their Black Swan aircraft from prototype to production,” said Mark Burgess, CEO of Quickstep.
“The Dronamics solution could well revolutionise the middle-mile cargo delivery sector and this partnership gives Quickstep the opportunity to provide our engineering and manufacturing expertise into delivering a large sophisticated cargo drone.”
Dronamics recently obtained its European drone airline license, making it the first cargo drone company to do so. It is planning to kickstart operations in Europe before the end of 2022 and Australia in 2023.
“The first strategic manufacturing partnership is a key milestone in our mission to enable same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere. As an innovator who is challenging the status quo in cargo mobility, we are thrilled to have the support of an experienced partner like Quickstep to help us realise the full potential of our solution,” said Konstantin Rangelov, co-founder and chief technology officer of Dronamics.
