Black Swan unmanned aircraft can handle transport in Europe

Dronamics, a European company, is set to launch the Black Swan, an unmanned drone that will be legally approved for transportation within the European Union starting in 2023. The concept was created by Bulgarian brothers Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov, who became interested in the market around 2013 when Amazon began exploring drone delivery.

They recognized that sending drones directly to customers’ homes could cause logistical issues and believed there was a more efficient way to deliver packages. Svilen Rangelov stated that in Bulgaria, goods are flown to Sophia, transferred to a large truck, driven long distances, then transferred to a smaller van for final delivery to various locations.

According to Business Insider, the brothers behind Dronamics felt that the use of large trucks for deliveries was costly and decided to develop an alternative solution. They created a plane that has half the capacity of a U-Haul van, providing customers with fast and cost-effective freight delivery.

With almost 3,000 landing strips available across Europe, this allows for same-day deliveries, many of which are closer to customers than traditional distribution centers.

The company claims that their solution can deliver cost reductions of up to 50 percent compared to competitors, thanks to the use of carbon fibre.

The single-propeller Black Swan can climb to altitudes of up to 6,000 metres, is capable of flying up to 2,500 kilometres and has a maximum transport capacity of 350 kilograms. The aircraft could also be useful for e-commerce, as it can carry individual parcels. The aircraft can also land on short runways, even unpaved. This will make it easier to reach small, isolated communities. Dronamics plans to operate Black Swan as the world’s first drone cargo airline.

Source: Businessinsider