KITE drones get green light for BVLOS deliveries in Zimbabwe

Drone delivery is moving beyond pilot projects in Zimbabwe, with local operator Drone Solutions International receiving regulatory approval to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) deliveries using Kite Aero’s KITE uncrewed aircraft system.

The approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) allows Drone Solutions to add BVLOS delivery operations to its specifications, clearing the way for commercial drone logistics in the country.

Getting there wasn’t a quick paperwork exercise. Drone Solutions spent six months working with CAAZ and Air Traffic Services on the approval, covering everything from the KITE aircraft and operating manuals to operational risk assessments and procedures for integrating the drone into existing airspace.

The process also included a live demonstration flight program in August 2026.

One of the biggest pieces of the safety case was operational data. Kite Aero supported the application with flight information collected through AXIOM, its drone operations management system.

According to Kite Aero, AXIOM has recorded more than 41,000 autonomous flights and 20,000 flight hours across KITE operations in Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and the United States. That gives regulators something more useful than projections: a substantial operational record showing how the aircraft and its supporting systems have performed in real-world operations.

AXIOM will also play a central role once commercial flights begin. Drone Solutions pilots will use the platform to plan, authorize, and operate every KITE mission. The operational risk assessment, flight planning and airspace coordination procedures accepted by CAAZ are embedded into the system.

The platform also tracks aircraft hours, battery cycles and maintenance across the fleet, giving Drone Solutions and the regulator a centralized source of operational information.

And the first use case in Zimbabwe is particularly practical. Drone Solutions plans to begin with medical and pathology logistics, connecting regional health facilities with central laboratories. Instead of relying entirely on road transportation, medical samples and other critical supplies could move between facilities by air.

For a country where long distances and transportation infrastructure can complicate medical logistics, that’s a potentially useful application for BVLOS drones.

“CAAZ set a high bar, and rightly so,” Drone Solutions CEO Jeremiah Musabayana says. He adds that the regulator and Air Traffic Services worked closely with the company on operations and airspace management, while the operational data behind KITE and AXIOM helped answer questions with evidence.

Zimbabwe is now the latest jurisdiction to approve KITE for BVLOS operations. Kite Aero says the system is approved in 25 jurisdictions across Africa, the UK, Australia, Europe under EASA frameworks and the US under FAA regulations.

For Drone Solutions and Kite Aero, however, Zimbabwe is only the beginning. The companies have outlined expansion plans covering Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

More: SkyeBrowse updates pricing with new tools for drone 3D mapping