Quickstep has announced it has been selected by Dronamics, a European middle-mile cargo drone developer and operator, as its first strategic manufacturing partner. The MOU partnership was announced at Farnborough International Airshow on July 18.
The MOU requests that Quickstep supply engineering and manufacturing services to support Dronamics to accelerate the production of Black Swan cargo drones. Detailed commercial negotiations have commenced and are expected to result in binding agreements for Phase 1 (Prototype) by October 31, 2022. It is anticipated that the first aircraft will be delivered during 2023, the long-term plan targets progressively increased aircraft production over the next four years.
Dronamics recently became the first cargo drone company to obtain a European drone airline license, and is planning to launch commercial operations in Europe before the end of 2022 and Australia from 2023.
“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," Mark Burgess, Quickstep Chief Executive Officer, said. "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. This is also a great opportunity to advance the Australian aerospace sector, something we are very passionate about.”
“The first strategic manufacturing partnership is a key milestone in our mission to enable same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere," Konstantin Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of DRONAMICS, said. "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.”