The UN mission in Somalia, using a PRT drone on a routine return delivery, broke the existing beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone delivery record. Drone developer Plymouth Rock believes that this flight has set an additional new record for complete ’round trip’ autonomous delivery capability.
On February 10, 2021, between 09.00 and 09.30 ZULU, a PRT delivery drone, in service with the UN, delivered a 6.5kg agricultural load in a 22.20km round trip flight in Somalia. The mission was completed in 30 minutes, with the drone flying outbound into a 35km headwind, at an average flying height of 400ft. The drone took off, reached its destination, dispatched its cargo precisely, and returned to its launch area with no pilot intervention or requirement to stop and change a battery. The flight and mission have been repeated multiple times since the above date.
The existing official world record was set at 34 minutes in China on September 12, 2019 when a DJI M600 drone flew a 2.25kg bedding quilt, packed within an aerodynamic box was flown 16.597km in Shanghai. The average flight height was 85ft (25m). This record included a stop and land halfway to swap batteries.
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