'Top Gun' pilots to fly drones between hospitals in ground-breaking Covid delivery scheme
Aircraft will be flown by former RAF and Royal Navy fighter pilots via a network of secure air corridors across the NHS
Former 'Top Gun' fighter pilots will fly drones carrying Covid-19 samples, test kits and personal protective equipment between hospitals.
Delivery service Apian, which was founded by NHS staff as part of the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, aims to establish a network of secure air corridors using satellite-enabled GPS.
It is hoped that the drone delivery service will avoid courier call-out waiting times, free up NHS staff and cut the risk of secondary transmission of the virus.
The drones are flown by former RAF and Royal Navy fighter pilots from the York-based unmanned aircraft training company Flyby Technology.
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The project will be based at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, and will be supported by the local Anglia Ruskin University as the academic partner.
The hospital stands on a First World War Royal Flying Corps airfield.
Christopher Law, from Apian, said: "Covid-19 has highlighted challenges in NHS supply chain logistics. There has never been a better time to create a faster, more dependable and environmentally friendly method of transporting medical supplies.
"We are confident that by setting up a medical drone delivery service, we'll be able to fly samples to labs more regularly, reliably and quickly, improving patient health outcomes."
Following trials, the company plans to create the UK's NHS Air Grid, a network of secure air corridors designed to safely enable drone delivery across the NHS.
It is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority, UK Space Agency and the emergency services to create these corridors.
The drones, which can carry a maximum weight of 2kg and fly about 60 miles, will operate at 300ft above ground level and are designed to fly in harsh weather.
The project is being funded through a share of a £1.3 million grant from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.