German drone delivery company Wingcopter and Spright, a subsidiary of American air medical service provider Air Methods, have announced a new commercial agreement worth more than US$16m.
As part of the deal, Spright is acquiring a large fleet of Wingcopter’s new flagship delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198, to meet the increasing demand for medical drone delivery solutions throughout the USA. The contract makes Wingcopter the exclusive provider of fixed-wing eVTOL delivery drone technology to Spright for use within its US operations. Spright, in turn, will become the exclusive provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the Wingcopter 198 to third parties in the USA.
The Wingcopter fleet will increase healthcare access across rural and underserved communities by enabling instant and on-demand delivery of vital medical supplies, medications, vaccines, blood and lab samples to medical facilities. According to Spright, it will also improve the quality of care for patients due to faster turnaround of lab samples and more targeted treatments for patients.
The electrically powered Wingcopter cargo drones will also reduce the medical industry’s carbon footprint, contributing to greener and more sustainable supply chains with faster and more predictable delivery times.
Joseph Resnik, the president of Spright, commented, “We are fortunate to have Wingcopter on board as our aircraft technology partner. With their industry-leading eVTOL aircraft design, Wingcopter brings a level of maturity needed to address the complex and diverse demands of the US healthcare market. We are confident that our combined strengths will deliver innovative, time-saving solutions to meet the needs of our customers and their communities.”
Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter, explained, “This multi-million-dollar commercial agreement with Spright is clear proof that the Wingcopter 198 has a perfect product-market fit. We are proud to enable large-scale drone delivery across the United States with this strong partnership.”
