AI-powered flight planning enables reliable BVLOS operations in extreme weather and remote terrain
Improving Access to Medical Supplies with Drone Technology
AerialMetric, Madagascar’s top medical drone delivery operator, has announced a new partnership with Shearwater Aerospace. The goal is to expand access to life-saving medicines in remote communities across the country. The partnership focuses on solving key challenges in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations, where weather and energy use can vary greatly from day to day.
“The integration of Shearwater’s technology directly addresses some of our most pressing operational challenges,” said Pierre-Loup Lesage, CEO of AerialMetric. “Manual BVLOS planning is increasingly time-consuming and often leads to highly variable route performance—with flights that succeed one day but are grounded the next.”
AerialMetric has built one of sub-Saharan Africa’s busiest medical drone delivery networks. Since 2020, it has completed over 10,000 flights, delivering more than 10 tonnes of essential medical supplies to over 1,000 health facilities. In 2024 alone, nearly 3,000 long-range missions were completed—many longer than 200 kilometers. These missions took place in high winds, heavy rain, extreme heat, and at altitudes reaching 1,700 meters.
Smart Flight™ Enables Safer, Scalable Drone Corridors
The new collaboration will use Shearwater’s Smart Flight™ platform to create safe and regulator-approved drone corridors that avoid populated areas. The system uses live regional weather data, energy forecasts, and safety protocols to create optimized BVLOS flight paths.
“By embedding real-time weather analysis and energy forecasting directly into our flight planning, Smart Flight™ allows us to deliver more consistently, scale with greater confidence, and strengthen regulatory trust as we expand our life-saving logistics network across Africa,” said Lesage.
Before each flight, Smart Flight™ checks that weather and energy conditions are within aircraft and legal limits. During flight, it monitors risks and helps crews decide whether to continue, reroute, or return to base—ensuring each mission stays within approved corridors and delivers safely.
Strengthening Health Services in Remote Areas
The technology will help AerialMetric continue operations in Madagascar and prepare for expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo, where terrain and weather also pose serious challenges.
“Reliable drone deliveries are critical for our ability to serve people in remote areas,” said Ny Manda Andrianjatovo, Operations Quality Lead at AerialMetric. “When weather conditions affect delivery schedules, it can mean the difference between having essential medicines available or not.”
The partnership offers a model for other regions, laying the groundwork for scalable drone-enabled healthcare services. Governments, NGOs, and commercial partners may find in this collaboration a tested approach to bringing life-saving logistics to underserved communities across emerging markets.
About AerialMetric
AerialMetric is a pioneer in long-range drone operations, specializing in the design, manufacturing, and deployment of VTOL UAVs for cargo delivery and surveillance. Based in Madagascar, the company provides cutting-edge logistical solutions to support healthcare, humanitarian aid, and emergency response across Africa. www.aerialmetric.com
About Shearwater Aerospace
Shearwater Aerospace develops state-of-the-art AI-powered software to enhance drone operations. Its flagship platform, Smart Flight™, helps operators plan BVLOS missions and manage in-flight risks. The system accounts for weather, terrain, aircraft limits, and more, and is trusted by partners including Lockheed Martin Canada. www.shearwater.ai
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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