Swoop Aero enables Ethiopia’s first medical drone distribution network

Australian drone delivery company Swoop Aero has returned to sector headlines after a long period of maintaining a relatively low profile by playing a critical role in the recently completed trial of Ethiopia’s first UAV medical distribution system.

The nation’s unprecedented medical drone delivery network was organized by humanitarian organization Red Lightning, and wrapped up an initial 30-day test run in late November. A total of 44 flights were made by Swoop Aero Kite UAVs to six remote and underserved communities around Ethiopia during the pilot phase, delivering medical items that included a variety of both urgent and more commonly used supplies.

According to Red Lightning Swoop Aero drones delivered a total of 6,936 vaccine doses against tuberculosis, poliovirus, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, hepatitis B, and other diseases. The NGO said that quantity of inoculations flown in the first two days alone was enough to supply recipient communities for a month, marking major advance in medical distribution and access to treatment in distant areas of Ethiopia.

Swoop Aero’s Kite drones had previously proven their effectiveness and reliability in medical delivery operations across Africa in years before Ethiopia’s trial run. The UAV can be remotely piloted or autonomously deployed, flying up to 120 kilometers with a 3 kg payload on a single battery charge. 

To reach the farthest-flung clinics in the project, a battery swap facility was established midway between destinations and the distribution hub, thereby extending the network’s reach to 240 kilometers. Swoop Aero’s fixed-wing drone takes off and lands vertically, providing both the greater flight efficiency of that craft design with the ease of use – and capability of deployment from almost any terrain – of a quadcopter.

The project was supported by Ethiopia’s health ministry and aided and funded by foreign businesses and NGOs, along with a $1 million grant. The effort not only brought critical medicines out to populations needing them most, but also gradually increased the drone network’s speed, efficiency, and cold chain vaccine preservation capabilities.

Red Lightning said evaluation of the scheme’s performance, and response from local communities, were overwhelmingly positive. As a result, the organization reports the trial has just been approved for a second phase, which will take place during another 90-day period sometime next year over an area of doubled size.