• Matternet, a drone-based delivery provider, has partnered with logistics company SkyGo and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DoH) to establish a city-wide medical drone delivery network. The companies claim this to be the first-ever city-wide medical drone deployment in the world.

• Matternet will operate under SkyGo’s license for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, transporting urgent and high-value items including Covid-19 vaccines as well as blood and lab samples across the city’s healthcare system.

• The companies intend to complete testing this year and to start commercial operations in Q1 2022 with plans to install 40 droneports in the city by the end of the first year of operation.

• The companies have already begun flight testing and have completed a demonstration transporting a live patient PCR test from Zayed Sports City to a laboratory.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: This partnership marks Matternet’s entry into UAE, and adds to its international presence, which includes established or planned operations in Switzerland, Germany , and Japan . The partnership also makes Matternet the first US-based drone operator to operate in the UAE.</ul>