Swoop Aero receives Australian government funding
Drone firm Swoop Aero has received A$1.8 million of funding from the Australian government to expand its operations in the state of Queensland
The funding will be used to expand on Swoop’s existing operations in the state to build the ‘world’s largest’ integrated drone logistics network. The network would be 175,000km2, and with the ability to extend its services further to over 400,000km2.
The network would be used to provide a range of services including the delivery of essential supplies, medical supply and sample transport, search and rescue, and environmental monitoring and mapping.
The funds were provided via the federal government’s Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships (EATP) program. The project is also supported by commercial partners such as Darling Downs Health Services, EBOS Group, UPS, Mater Group, Pathology Queensland, Midnight Health, Goondir Indigenous Health Services Corporation, Lucy Walker TerryWhite Chemmart, and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise.
Drone networks are becoming a popular choice to provide services to remote communities around the world. Swoop has also been working to establish medical drone services in Namibia this year, in collaboration with local health services provider Macquarie Medical Care.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.