Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency Approves BVLOS Flights Using eBee Ag and eBee Geo Fixed Wing Drones
WICHITA, Kan. — AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE:UAVS) (“AgEagle” or the “Company”), an industry leading provider of full-stack drone, sensor and software solutions for commercial and government/defense use, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) commercial drone registration data confirms that the Company’s eBee is the most used fixed wing small Unmanned Aerial System (“sUAS” or “drone”) in the United States, accounting for 41% of all commercial fixed-wing drone registrations in the nation since 2016.
According to the Company’s analysis of official FAA Part 107 commercial drone registration data supplied to AgEagle pursuant to its FOIA Request submission, from 2016 – 2021, the eBee was the commercial sUAS of choice for U.S. commercial drone operators, outnumbering all other fixed wing drones registered, including Vertical Take-off and Landing (“VTOL”) aircraft, by a large margin as reflected in the table.
Barrett Mooney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AgEagle, stated, “AgEagle is very proud that the eBee is the commercial fixed wing drone of choice for commercial drone operators in the United States. We believe our leading share of the U.S. market is a direct reflection of our dedication to meeting the needs of our customers through our unrelenting focus on ease of use, flight safety and consistent mission-specific performance. Moreover, we expect that this same focus on drone safety and advanced functionality is why our line of eBee sUAS continues to succeed in meeting evolving Beyond Vision Line of Sight (BVLOS) and Operations Over People (OOP) regulatory requirements in an expanding number of countries worldwide, including, most recently, our BVLOS approvals in Brazil. As the FAA advances towards the safe integration of commercial drones into U.S. airspace and permits BVLOS and OOP on a commercial scale, AgEagle intends to be right at the forefront partnering with industry partners to capitalize on the numerous benefits afforded by safe and reliable drone technologies.”
On the regulatory front, AgEagle’s eBee X was the industry’s first drone to receive EASA design verification essential for beyond visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) flights and operations over people (“OOP”) in the European Union, as well as regulatory approval for BVLOS operations in Brazil and OOP in Canada. Earlier this year, our eBee TAC™ was the industry’s first drone to be added to the Blue UAS Cleared List by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit under the Blue sUAS 2.0 program.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) approved BVLOS flights to be carried out in Brazil using AgEagle’s eBee Geo and eBee Ag fixed wing drones. Working in collaboration with technical partners, AL Drones, a drone engineering and consulting specialist, and geotechnology company Santiago & Cintra Geotecnologias, the Design Authorization from ANAC was secured for BVLOS flight clearance. The eBee Geo and eBee Ag drones received approval by demonstrating the safety requirements of the ANAC RBAC-E94 Regulation Unmanned Aircraft through detailed engineering analyses and in-depth flight testing. Following the certification, eBee Geo and eBee Ag drone operators in Brazil now only need to acquire a CAER (Special Airworthiness Certificate for RPA) certificate for the aircraft with Santiago & Cintra before flying BVLOS operations.
AL Drones Co-Founder André Arruda noted, “The Design Authorization process for the eBee Geo and eBee Ag was completed in four months — a record time for this type of ANAC approval. Throughout the process, it was proven that the eBees meet all requirements for BVLOS flights in our country, including safety systems, protection logics, anti-collision lights, systems redundancy and operational and emergency procedures for flights beyond the remote pilot’s view. This demonstrates the design maturity of the eBee line of drones, widely used in Brazil for mapping, and also affirms the high level of safety in BVLOS operations with this equipment.”
About AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc.
AgEagle and its wholly owned subsidiaries are actively engaged in designing and delivering best-in-class drones, sensors and software that solve important problems for our customers. Founded in 2010, AgEagle was originally formed to pioneer proprietary, professional-grade, fixed-winged drones and aerial imagery-based data collection and analytics solutions for the agriculture industry. Today, AgEagle is a leading provider of full stack drone solutions for customers worldwide in the energy, construction, agriculture, and government verticals. For additional information, please visit our websites at www.ageagle.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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