Comment: Cargo drones and airfields

What if many of these airfields could be brought back to life and used regularly for air cargo? What if the people in the nearby towns and hamlets could soon see a reliable, regular, and fast delivery service for vital, much-needed supplies? What if local farmers and business owners had the opportunity to ship their produce out same-day to major regional centres or capital cities via these airfields?

The underutilisation of these airfields today is largely due to the fact that the economics of offering these services just don’t work. Air cargo is still restricted to large hubs at major airports in big cities. But what if someone could find a way to ship cargo by air using these very airfields and still be competitive?

Currently, cargo in Australia tends to be delivered by one of two models — by air, where the major freight companies fly cargo from one major airport hub to another, and only the first and last part of the journey is done by road (the industry calls these trips the first mile and the last mile) — or by road, resulting in excruciatingly long journeys, multiple stops, delays, and carbon emissions.

So what if these remote and regional airfields could be used to create hundreds, if not thousands, of mini cargo hubs all over the country? It would create an entirely new supply chain for the whole nation.

Dronamics believes this is the future of cargo mobility. Operating mid-sized cargo drones with the capacity of the average delivery van (350kg) with a range of up to 2,500km, their business model can offer savings of up to 80% on time, 50% on cost, and 30-60% on carbon emissions compared to traditional freight.

To operate the network, all that’s required is a 400-metre runway, which doesn’t even need to be paved. A Dronamics drone can take off and land on grassed runways or even roads. The drones are controlled by droneports — facilities that can be installed anywhere where the drones can take off and land and which allow them to be remotely controlled while integrating with local air traffic services. Similarly to airports, droneports serve as operational hubs but require much less infrastructure.

As a result, any remote or regional airfield could become a mini cargo hub offering airfreight that saves time, cost and emissions. Dronamics has developed, built and now operates the world’s first long-range cargo drone that can carry a heavy load at a meaningful distance, making it the perfect solution for Australia’s vast geography.

With such a vital new supply chain set up across the country, affordable same-day delivery would be possible for anyone in Australia. It would be a democratisation of airfreight, servicing under-utilised routes and providing connections to millions of Australians who live in remote and regional areas. Australia’s airfields are waiting to be revived, creating social and economic opportunities for everyone, everywhere.