Skyways (drone)

2019: Beginning of use

On March 15, 2019, Airbus Group announced the launch, according to the company, of the world's first drones delivering cargo from land to floating ships.

The first to test new drones called Skyways were the logistics company Wilhelmsen Ships Services and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

The first flight of delivery drones took place on March 15, 2019. The drone transferred from land to a sea ship one and a half kilograms of payload - consumables printed on a 3D printer. They were delivered to the Pacific Centurion transport and towing ship, located 1.5 km from the coastal line.

According to the authors of the project, the device was able to fully work offline and coped with its task within ten minutes.

Airbus says Skyways is capable of delivering cargo weighing up to 4 kg and landing on ships up to 3 km from the shore, flying along dedicated air corridors using special control software.

Airbus drones start delivering cargo to floating ships

During the Skyways testing period, partner companies want to understand how UAVs can be used for the benefit of the entire shipping industry. Drones are said to be able to speed up cargo delivery by a factor of six, reduce costs by 90%, reduce CO2 emissions, and avoid accidents that can result from normal loading procedures at busy ports.

By March 2019, the delivery of various kinds of goods, including spare parts, products and medicines, to ships standing on a remote external raid, is usually carried out by boats or even helicopters, if we are talking about heavy objects. This makes shipping more expensive. Drones have to solve this problem.^[1]

Notes