For this week’s round-up of commercial drone industry news, we take a look at two different kinds of drone delivery. One that supports wind-turbine farms off the coast of Germany and one that delivers groceries rapidly in the UK. Lastly, we look at how drones are protecting wetlands in India.  

Long-Range Autonomous Flights Support Wind Turbine Farms in the Baltic Sea 

In Germany, drones are improving the offshore supply chain through long-range autonomous flights. Skyports Drone Services, RWE, and Skyways have worked together to test out these autonomous flights to the Arkona Wind Turbine farm, located 35 kilometers northeast of the island of Rügen. This mission used Skyways’ V2 drone to deliver small parts to the farm. The delivery was completed in under 30 minutes, a significant decrease in delivery time compared to the traditional method of shipping parts out, which can take over an hour.  
“The trial has proved that drones give us flexibility. In offshore, flexibility is power. They allow us to react faster, reduce waiting times, and optimize resources. It’s a whole new dimension of efficiency,” stated Vivek Trivedi, O&M Optimization Manager at RWE.   

Drone Food Delivery Tested in Ireland 

Drone start-up company Manna Aero is working towards providing the UK with its first food drone delivery operation by 2026. The company has begun testing with over 200,000 delivery flights in Dublin, Finland, and overseas in Texas. The company’s CEO Bobby Healy explains the value in having a delivery service in the United Kingdom. 
 “(UK) would be our most important market in Europe. It's by far the biggest delivery market today. We think our product maps really well onto the UK high street, particularly." 
Anything from eggs to burgers, and most popularly coffee, can be delivered to the customers in a matter of minutes. 

Drones to Guard India’s Wetlands 

Drones are set to aid in protection and surveillance of the Sukhna Wetlands in India. This sensitive ecological system is continually threatened by commercial mining, stone quarrying, and water resource exploitation. The drones will cover the area of the wetlands with cameras, providing a livestream of the area to monitor its health. The article states that drones will be “used extensively to keep a tab on the wetland and ensure that no prohibited activities are undertaken in and around it,”, and “in emergencies where an immediate overview of the wetland is required, particularly of remote areas.”