Well; it must have been one hell of a convincing job when the team from Drone Solutions Zimbabwe called in the Civil Aviation Authority to witness their demonstration of medical drone logistics in Harare recently.
Because, thanks to that demonstration, the drone services company – which made a leap of faith when it ventured into beyond the visual line of sight drone logistics – has just been granted the greenlight to fly delivery drones in Zimbabwe.
The historic licence was granted this past week, opening up opportunities for Drone Solutions Zimbabwe to carry out commercial drone delivery operations, which include transporting medicines, vaccines and other time-critical supplies across the country.
“From our early Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) training operations to our public demonstrations in Chitungwiza alongside the National Blood Service Zimbabwe and the National Men's Forum, we have consistently proven that this technology saves time, resources, and lives,” the company said in celebrating its new licence.
“More recently, showcasing the KiteAero platform at the Zimbabwe Agric Show validated the immense commercial appetite for autonomous delivery.”
The approval gives the company licence to deploy delivery drones for Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions, as explained by the company statement.
In their trial flights to regulators in Chitungwiza, about 30km south of the capital, the company demonstrated how delivery drones can be deployed for in last-mile logistics, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities where poor roads, long distances, flooding and other disruptions can delay the movement of essential supplies.
Needless to say, the company said its initial focus will be on critical logistics linked to healthcare and emergency support.
“This approval is bigger than Drone Solutions,” said Jeremiah Musabayana, Drone Solutions International president.
“It gives Zimbabwe an opportunity to build faster, more resilient and more inclusive logistics systems — and to ensure that geography does not stand between a person and essential healthcare or emergency support.”
As part of the certification process, Drone Solutions Zimbabwe took the KiteAero drone for a long-distance spin on a medical delivery demonstration, from the Drone Solutions Training Institute on the outskirts of Harare to Murewa Hospital about 110km away.
Air traffic control personnel were stationed at the flight school, at Murewa Hospital and at the control centre at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport during the demonstration.
The flight was monitored in real time through the company’s flight-management platform.
The company said the drone delivery system could also support rural hospitals and communities that can become cut off by floods or road closures.
Beyond healthcare, the platform could be used for time-sensitive agricultural, veterinary and industrial cargo.
Drone Solutions has also previously demonstrated long-distance drone operations in Zimbabwe, including a flight to Murewa Hospital under CAAZ observation.
“The approval therefore provides a regulatory basis for Drone Solutions Zimbabwe to proceed with commercial drone delivery operations under the authorised conditions,” the company said.
“The company plans to use the approval to develop delivery corridors and conduct operational pilots focused initially on critical supplies.
“Drone Solutions is inviting Government, the ministries responsible for health and transport, hospitals, humanitarian agencies, development finance institutions and private companies to participate in building locally operated delivery networks.”
Having already started commercial operations in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the company’s wider objective is to establish locally operated delivery networks that can support the movement of critical supplies across Zimbabwe.