Tokyo, August 7, 2025 – Terra Drone Corporation, a leading drone and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology company headquartered in Japan, is pleased to announce that its group company and a global leader in UAS Traffic Management (UTM) solutions Unifly NV, has provided its in-house developed UTM platform and technical support for a medical drone delivery trial flight conducted in the Kempen region of northern Belgium. The trial flight was carried out as part of the BURDI (Belgian U-space Reference Design Implementation) Project (hereinafter referred to as “the project”), which aims to enable the safe and efficient integration of drones and manned aircraft in shared airspace.
About the BURDI Project
The project is a joint European initiative co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the SESAR Joint Undertaking (1), a European public-private partnership for aviation research and innovation. It targets Belgium and the Netherlands and aims to implement U-space(2)-based operational rules and airspace management frameworks at the local level, enabling the coexistence of drones and manned aircraft, including Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations
The project explores a variety of drone use cases, including medical logistics, infrastructure inspection, and public safety support. Led by skeyes, Belgium’s national air navigation service provider (ANSP), the project brings together 18 participating organizations from both the public and private sectors. Unifly provides its UTM platform as the core technology of the project.
Background and Objectives of the Trial Flight
In many regional and suburban areas across Europe, medical facilities are often located far apart, and ground transportation of urgent medical supplies is frequently delayed due to traffic congestion and geographic constraints. In critical care and emergency medicine, even slight delays can have a direct impact on the quality of treatment. This has created a growing need for faster and more reliable delivery methods. Under such conditions, drone-based medical deliveries are gaining attention as a practical and effective solution to support regional healthcare systems.
This trial flight focused on the high-public-value use case of “emergency medical delivery” to evaluate whether drones can deliver supplies more quickly and efficiently compared to traditional road transport. It also served to validate the effectiveness of U-space implementation in real-world operational settings.
The Kempen region in northern Belgium, where the trial flight took place, is a semi-rural area located away from major urban centers. Like many regional areas, it faces challenges such as long distances between medical facilities and limitations in ground transportation infrastructure.
Overview of the Trial Flight
Period: Five days since August 1, 2025
Location: Kempen region, northern Belgium
Details of the Trial Flight
Emergency medical cargo—including medication and laboratory samples—was transported by drone between two medical campuses of AZ Turnhout, a major healthcare provider in the Kempen region of northern Belgium. The trial flight was conducted over a period of five days. The flights were conducted Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and were remotely piloted from a Remote Operations Centre located in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The remote piloting was carried out by Skyports Drone Services, which participated in the trial flight as the flight operator.
In addition to the continuous operation of emergency medical deliveries in a real healthcare setting, this trial flight was notable for receiving formal approval from relevant authorities to conduct remote drone operations from a control center located outside of Belgium. This made it a highly advanced and rare case. Furthermore, by operating with a view toward full-scale U-space implementation, the trial is regarded as one of the few near-operational use cases within the European region.
Unifly’s Role
Unifly provided the core technological infrastructure for the trial flight through its UTM platform. By centrally managing processes such as flight authorization, route coordination, and real-time air traffic monitoring, the platform supported the safe integration of drones and manned aircraft while ensuring the reliable delivery of medical cargo.
Unifly’s UTM system was selected for the project due to its compliance with European U-space regulations. It enabled safe and efficient airspace management through key functions such as flight plan approval, restricted airspace enforcement, collision avoidance, weather alerts, and emergency stop support.
Future Outlook
This trial represents a foundational step toward establishing Belgium’s first permanent medical drone delivery network. In the future, the plan is to deploy autonomous drone stations at major hospitals across the Kempen region in northern Belgium, enabling 24/7, year-round operations.
Such a network is expected to contribute to the realization of personalized medicine by facilitating flexible, timely delivery of critical treatments tailored to individual patients. For example, the rapid transport of specialized medications such as chemotherapy drugs between hospitals would allow for more responsive and higher-quality care.
For Terra Drone, participating in this trial flight from the early stages of regulatory and operational framework development marks a critical milestone for future business expansion in the growing field of medical drone logistics.
Terra Drone remains committed to advancing the societal implementation of next-generation air mobility as a core technology provider in the field of airspace infrastructure.
Editor’s Notes
1 SESAR Joint Undertaking: A public-private partnership established to coordinate and implement the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) program, which aims to modernize Europe’s air traffic management system through collaborative research and innovation involving both government institutions and industry stakeholders.
2 U-space: A public-private partnership established to implement the “SESAR” (Single European Sky ATM Research) program, aimed at modernizing Europe’s air traffic management systems.
About Unifly NV
Unifly is a leading aviation tech company dedicated to enhancing the safety and efficiency of autonomous aviation with cutting-edge technology. The Unifly platform acts as a crucial bridge within the UAS ecosystem, enabling the safe and secure integration of next-generation aircraft into the airspace. By digitizing and automating traffic management and integrating seamlessly with drones and Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Unifly addresses the exponential growth in air traffic expected in the coming decades. The company has a proven track record of implementing more than ten commercial UTM deployments, establishing it as a world leader in this industry.
For more information, please visit the website at Unifly.aero or contact us at press@unifly.aero.
About Terra Drone Corporation
Terra Drone Corporation, headquartered in Japan, is a global leader in drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions. Dedicated to the mission of “Unlock ‘X’ Dimensions”, the company is committed to creating a prosperous future by “crossing” bridges—integrating diverse fields to foster innovation and find solutions. Specializing in surveying, inspections, agriculture, and UAS Traffic Management (UTM), Terra Drone serves industries such as oil and gas, construction, chemicals, energy, and agriculture.
With a portfolio of over 3,000 completed projects worldwide, Terra Drone has achieved significant milestones in the drone operations field. In July 2023, the company acquired a majority stake in Unifly, a world-leading provider of UTM platform, with deployments in over eight countries, followed by an investment in U.S.-based Aloft Technologies in February 2024, further expanding its capabilities in UTM.Terra Drone was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market (Stock Code: 278A) on November 29, 2024. It also secured top spot in Global Drone Service Provider Rankings for 2024.
Recognized by Drone Industry Insights as one of the top three industrial drone service providers globally for five consecutive years, Terra Drone aims to build the digital infrastructure necessary to unlock the full potential of drones and AAM solutions. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.terra-drone.net
Media Contact:
PR Team, Terra Drone Corporation
Tel: +81-3-6419-7193
Email: pr@terra-drone.co.jp
