Unmanned aircraft weighing more than half a ton successfully test flight

The unmanned aircraft of Elroy Air weighs up to 551kg. When tested, it reached a height of 3m, hovered for 64 seconds and then landed successfully.

According to The Verge, on August 14 the drone of Elroy Air - weighing 551 kg - took off from the runway at the air base at Camp Roberts, California (USA).

The drone reached a height of 3 m, hovered for 64 seconds and then landed. This is the first successful test flight of Elroy Air, a San Francisco-based startup company.

The main goal of Elroy Air is to develop heavy-duty unmanned aerial vehicles . The company is expected to launch the product in the market in 2020.

The unmanned aircraft of Elroy Air.(Photo: Elroy Air).

The test flight of Elroy Air was just a humble beginning. Analysts say the automated delivery service using drones will become a trillion-dollar business and potentially overthrow the traditional transportation industry.

Elroy is one of the very few startups currently focusing on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) for delivery instead of aerial taxis or flying cars.

Currently, the majority of delivery drones tested by companies is light, medium-sized four-wing aircraft. This type of aircraft can only drop one item near the point of delivery.

Over the past few months, there have been many giants jumping into the field of drone delivery. In June, Amazon announced the latest version of its Prime Air delivery program with a drone that can fly like a jet in the air and achieve significant altitude.

Earlier, in April, Wing - a startup project initiated by Alphabet (Google's parent company) - became the first drone delivery company approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Commercial delivery in the US.

Wing's delivery aircraft.(Photo: Wing).

Another big shipping company, UPS, is not out of the new trend. In March, UPS announced a partnership with Matternet, launching a pilot project to use drones to transport medical equipment at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Elory's products are 'out of the trend ' . Elroy aims to design drones that are much larger and can carry more cargo over long distances.

The company intends to use its Chaparral self-control system to serve the needs of transporting medical equipment, disaster response, and remote military missions.

Elroy is expected to cooperate with large-scale shipping companies such as FedEx, DHL or UPS. According to the company, the first version of Chaparral will transport about 113 kg of cargo within a range of nearly 500 km.