Denver, COLORADO — Wingcopter is growing from strength to strength as a medical drone logistics company of note in the world

Having started out just four years ago as a short-lived pilot project in Tanzania, it seems the German drone manufacturer and drone services provider has now gained a solid foothold into the US medical drone market, following their partnership with American air medical services provide, Air Methods.

According to the announcement made yesterday, the two companies will launch a drone solution designed to improve healthcare access in the country by expending medical supply.

Called Spright, the drone operation will be carried out across the United States.

“As a result of the nation’s efforts to keep healthcare costs down, Americans are impacted by a lack of immediate or timely access to healthcare resources,” Air Methods said in yesterday’s announcement. “When these shortages impact the availability of blood products, medicines, diagnostics or small medical devices, the consequences can be dire.

“This new drone delivery network will improve access to urgently needed medical supplies for healthcare providers and the communities they serve. Air Methods will make this possible by deploying fleets of Wingcopter’s new flagship delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198.

“The team at Wingcopter has the proven technology and production capacity to enable Spright to create a nationwide network, built around Air Methods’ existing infrastructure of more than 300 bases, serving hundreds of hospitals, across 48 states in predominantly in rural areas.”

Operation Spright will be launching this autumn, and the first port of call will be a partnership with Hutchinson Regional Medical System, in Kansas, according to the medical services provider. This pilot will provide a proof of concept of how drone-based venture can provide relief and certainty for medical resources in rural America. Spright will provide additional details on this initial project as the deployment draws near.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some of the real challenges in our health care system creating an opportunity to find better solutions to extend access to healthcare, especially in rural America,” said JaeLynn Williams, CEO of Air Methods.

“That is why we are doing what Air Methods does best, taking to the skies, using the latest in technology and drone innovation, delivering hope and facilitating healing with speed and efficiency that was previously unimaginable.  We see Spright serving a vastly underserved market and playing a huge role in a future full of better outcomes for everyone.”

Wingcopter CEO Tom Plummer is naturally happy that his company has made a potive step in the biggest drone market in the world.

“We are thrilled to team up with Air Methods to create a life-saving drone delivery network throughout the United States,” said Plümmer. “Our technology has been used globally to effectively deliver medical supplies, for example insulin in Ireland, children’s vaccines in Vanuatu, emergency medication in Malawi, and just recently, blood samples in Germany.

“Our vision to ‘save and improve lives’ resonates perfectly with Air Methods’ legacy of providing lifesaving care, combined with Spright’s ambition to improve the quality of healthcare across the U.S. by deploying fleets of Wingcopters, and we are excited about scaling this together.”