When the Wingcopter 198 is granted type certification, it will have permission to conduct flights to the equivalent of Level 4, which covers flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) in populated areas.
The certification would make Wingcopter and ITOCHU one of the first companies in Japan to set up BVLOS operations.
Japan has a lot of potential for drones because of its ageing population and secluded landscape including many inhabited islands.
Wingcopter and ITOCHU plan to use the Wingcopter 198 to establish delivery networks to transport vital and urgently needed goods quickly over challenging terrain.
The Wingcopter 198 is the first foreign drone and the first fixed-wing drone to be accepted under the unmanned aircraft class-1 type certification by Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Florian-Michael Adolf, Head of Certification at Wingcopter, says, “This milestone represents significant progress towards realising commercial drone delivery in Japan and beyond. At Wingcopter, we are striving for type certification, as it underscores our commitment to safety of our product, as well as the diligence and professionalism of our entire team. We would like to thank our partners at ITOCHU for supporting us in this process with their extensive knowledge, network, and resources.”
Masaharu Sato, Deputy General Manager, Aerospace Department at ITOCHU Corporation, adds, “We see great potential in Wingcopter’s delivery drone to make everybody’s life better and are delighted with the promising progress in realising this value. It is our honour to collaborate with the dedicated professionals at Wingcopter, led by the management team around Tom, Jonathan and Ansgar. We look forward to continuing this exciting journey together.”