Terra Drone Invests in Aloft Technologies to Enter U.S. Market, Boost Global UTM Development
TOKYO, March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Terra Drone Corporation (Terra Drone), a leading drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technology provider headquartered in Japan, has announced an investment in Aloft Technologies (Aloft), a company focusing on developing UTM, and a market leader in drone fleet and airspace management in the United States.
This investment makes Terra Drone the largest shareholder in Aloft, with Aloft becoming an affiliate company of Terra Drone. Additionally, Yuki Ueno, Terra Drone's executive officer, has been appointed to the Aloft board.
This partnership also marks Terra Drone's official entry into the U.S. market, recognized as the world's largest market for drones and AAMs. Together with Aloft and Unifly, a Belgium-based UTM provider being a Terra Drone subsidiary, Terra Drone is positioned to contribute to the global development of the UTM ecosystem.
Aloft was founded in 2015. With investments from commercial aircraft and space equipment manufacturer Boeing's Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) and Travelers Insurance, one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S., Aloft is a leading supplier of Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") certified UAS services, powering over 84% of all airspace authorizations (*1), and last year announced that it had surpassed 1 million Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) requests (*2).
Aloft also provides a cloud-based drone fleet management system (*3) that enables centralized management of aircraft and pilot information. The solution supports complete drone operations, efficiently managing workflows from pre-flight to post-flight, and achieving automation and compliance. Other key features of the solution include aircraft and asset management, real-time live video sharing, and two-way voice communication. Every major industry has adopted the Aloft platform for mission critical drone operations management, including energy, utilities, oil and gas, media, construction, insurance, and public safety.
Notes to Editor:
*1 "Aloft Launches New Fleet & UTM Capabilities, Surpassing 84% of LAANC Airspace Authorizations In September" - [Link: https://www.aloft.ai/blog/aloft-launches-new-fleet-utm-capabilities-surpassing-84-of-laanc-airspace-authorizations-in-september/ ]
*2 Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC): A simplified UTM in the United States for airspace management, including approval and certification operations, for low-altitude unmanned aircraft. Calculations are based on FAA LAANC reports and Aloft user data, last published in Aloft's "State of LAANC" report last September. "State of LAANC: Aloft Crosses 1M Airspace Authorizations" - [Link: https://www.aloft.ai/blog/state-of-laanc-aloft-crosses-1m-airspace-authorizations/]
*3 Fleet management system: A system that centralizes the operational management of pilots and multiple aircraft.
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