The data from the flights will support the development of India’s nationwide Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) platform
Stakeholders from the India Ministry of Defense (MoD), Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA), and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA), have awarded clearance for the ANRA Technologies led consortia to commence trials for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in India.
Months of planning, risk assessments, air traffic control integration, training, and equipment preparation, finally culminated with ANRA’s flight team launching its first sortie on June 16. For the next several weeks, the aerospace company will conduct BVLOS food and medical package deliveries with drones in the Etah and Rupnagar districts, using its SmartSkies technology.
The kit consists of a coordinated, scalable, and highly adaptable family of software services, providing the execution and management of drone operations in controlled and uncontrolled airspace. This will ensure the safety of the Indian National Airspace and enable a seamless integration into the country’s Air Traffic Control systems.
Alongside ANRA, the consortium will also consist of Swiggy, the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, and BetterDrones. It intends to use data from the flights to support the development of India’s nationwide operational UAS Traffic Management (UTM) platform called Digital Sky. The outcome of the trials will enable industry, government, and regulatory stakeholders to determine the necessity to support interaction and data exchange between UTM services suppliers while assessing the suitability and applicability of existing technology capabilities.
“ANRA’s deep roots in India and my personal family ties make me especially proud to have contributed to this historic moment for India, government stakeholders, and our partners,” said Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of ANRA. “Knowing our technology may soon help deliver food and medical packages to underserved populations are what motivates and unifies our team.”
Srikant Sekhar Padhee, head of corporate relation cell at IIT Ropar, added: “IIT Ropar will partner with ANRA Technologies leading two consortia aimed at package delivery. The recent COVID-19 has shown that remote and unmanned delivery of essential items can not only be a usual business proposition but can be a life-saving endeavor aimed at restricting infections under such emergencies.”
ANRA Technologies is an international provider of airspace management solutions for unmanned aircraft operators and airspace managers. It offers intelligent and modular traffic management software capabilities as part of the SmartSkies family for UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations.
