Skyfire Consulting has acquired a majority stake in Viking UAS, a drone design and manufacturing company operating in the military research sector.
A Skyfire press release says the Maine-based company will work on drone solutions for “sectors such as public safety, infrastructure and last-mile delivery for coronavirus-related medical supplies.”
“After nearly six years of helping the public safety sector develop hundreds of UAS programs, we are thrilled to be able to add the vast engineering and manufacturing skills Viking offers to our portfolio,” said Matt Sloane, CEO of Skyfire and its parent company, Atlanta Drone Group Inc.
In addition to its ongoing work for the military, Viking will begin developing “purpose-built drone systems” for Skyfire clients in police and fire departments, the oil and gas industry and the global public health response arena.
“The addition of logistics challenges facing all sectors during the current coronavirus pandemic only accelerated the need for Skyfire to move forward with many of Viking’s project concepts,” Sloane added.
Viking UAS will continue to operate engineering and manufacturing services from its Saco, Maine headquarters, and Viking founder Chris Taylor will remain on-board as Director of Advanced Systems Development for the new Skyfire subsidiary.
In January, Skyfire announced a partnership with UAV company Doosan Mobility Innovation and hydrogen-fuel service provider ReadyH2 to tackle a pipeline-inspection project for an unnamed American company. Doosan will deploy a hydrogen-powered octocopter. The drone sports a hydrogen-powered generator fueling two hours of flight time per mission over nearly 50 miles.
Last year, Skyfire partnered with Georgia World Congress Center Authority, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and a team of pilots, security experts and software partners to deploy two tethered drones above Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of Super Bowl LIII. The drones were in position to overlook events and respond in case of an emergency.
Jason is a longstanding contributor to DroneLife with an avid interest in all things tech. He focuses on anti-drone technologies and the public safety sector; police, fire, and search and rescue.
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