Aeronext is further accelerating the implementation of its new smart logistics SkyHub® in Mongolia, and is building an urban model of smart logistics incorporating drones.

Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Keisuke Toji; hereinafter “Aeronext”) has been selected to receive funding under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s FY 2023 Supplementary Global South Future-oriented Collaborative Creation Project Subsidy (Survey on the Promotion of Overseas Infrastructure Development by Japanese Companies: 2nd Call for Applications) (hereinafter referred to as “subsidy”), for Aeronext’s “Standardization Verification Project for Smart Logistics Incorporating Drones for Mongolia” (hereinafter referred to as “project”).

The project aims to implement an urban smart logistics model that utilizes drones and next-generation transportation and delivery management systems, starting with the medical field, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where traffic congestion is becoming more serious, and to build a new aerial infrastructure. In addition, Aeronext will examine the possibility of expanding to other cities in emerging countries that face similar issues.

For this subsidy, Aeronext was selected as one of the 110 successful applicants, going through a rigorous screening process that included 163 applicants who responded to the public request for applications that lasted from September 9 to October 11, 2024.

In order to solve the serious problems in the transportation of medical supplies caused by chronic traffic congestion and fragile road infrastructure, Aeronext has been active in Mongolia since 2022. Specifically, Aeronext were selected for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) FY2022 SDGs Business Supporting Survey’s Needs Confirmation Survey, and subsequently for the FY2023 SDGs Business Supporting Survey’s SDGs Business Validation Survey, and have been working on a business validation project to build a medical product delivery network using drones.

In November last year, Aeronext and local partner Newcom Group conducted a successful demonstration experiment^*2 of a flight that would correspond to Level 4 (visual flight outside of visual line of sight in an inhabited area) in Japan, in a harsh environment with an outside temperature of -15℃, between the National Center for Transfusion Medicine and the Mongolia-Japan Hospital of Mongol National University of Medical Science.

The experienced operations team at NEXT DELIVERY Inc., a strategic subsidiary of Aeronext Inc., trained the staff of the Newcom Group’s MSDD (Mongolian Smart Drone Delivery) operations team in Japan and Mongolia to develop remote pilots and teams, and to build an independent MSDD operations system. In June of this year, MSDD became the first in Mongolia to be granted a commercial drone flight license by the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA). In August, the National Center for Transfusion Medicine began the practical application of drone delivery of blood to three hospitals in the city (the Mongolia-Japan Hospital, Amgalan Hospital, and the First Mother and Child Center), and is now conducting regular and emergency operations to deliver blood for transfusions using drones, instead of the emergency vehicles that were previously used. Over a 45-day period from August to the end of September, Aeronext made 50 flights to transport blood from the blood transfusion center to three hospitals. Aeronext also contributed to saving two lives by delivering blood for surgical transfusions on an emergency basis.

With this adoption, Aeronext will further accelerate the activities mentioned above that it has been implementing in Mongolia, and will aim to expand to other emerging countries by constructing, verifying, and implementing an urban smart logistics model for the medical field.

【Outline of the Project】

１．Proposal Details
Standardization Verification Project for Smart Logistics Incorporating Drones for Mongolia

２．Period
January 2025 (Date of the adoption decision) ～December 31, 2025

３．Planned Implementation Outline

• Building the de facto standard for drone delivery
• Achieving the de facto standard for optimal logistics operations that incorporate drone delivery
• Business development/fundraising activities and needs assessment in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

【About the FY 2023 Supplementary Global South Future-oriented Collaborative Creation Project Subsidy】
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aims to revitalize domestic industry through innovation in Japan, etc., by harnessing the growth potential of markets in the Global South by addressing regional issues, and to strengthen economic partnerships with Global South countries and realize benefits for the countries where the projects are implemented by implementing this project, and to subsidize part of the costs required for feasibility studies for overseas development of infrastructure, etc., by Japanese companies ( “FS projects”) and small-scale demonstration projects (“demonstration projects”).

Reference: Announcement of the selection results for subsidy recipients for the “Global South Future-oriented Collaborative Creation Project (Survey on the Promotion of Overseas Infrastructure Development by Japanese Companies: 2nd Call for Applications)” fiscal year 2023 supplemental (December 12, 2024) in Japanese:

https://www.meti.go.jp/information/publicoffer/saitaku/2024/s241212002.html

Reference

*1 New Smart Logistics
A public-private initiative to find solutions to the issues commonly faced by the logistics industry, such as labor shortages, environmental and energy issues, and DX areas, while utilizing digital and technology to ensure the future sustainability of logistics, which is an indispensable infrastructure for people’s daily lives. The project aims to realize the last mile joint delivery, the best mix of land and air transportation, freight and passenger consolidation, automated technology, etc., through co-creation based on an open public platform (O.P.P.) that transcends the boundaries between the industry and the outside world.

*2 Successful Demonstration of Blood Transport by Drone in Ulaanbaatar
On November 13, 2023, in the city of Ulaanbaatar, located at an altitude of 1,300 meters above sea level, a 9.5 km round-trip route between the National Center for Transfusion Medicine and the Mongolia-Japan Hospital of Mongol National University of Medical Science was successfully completed by AirTruck, a drone dedicated to logistics, in extremely cold outside temperatures of -15℃. The blood was delivered by AirTruck, a drone specially designed for logistics, using automatic navigation over a third party, which falls under the Japanese term of “Level 4 (unassisted, unobserved flight in a manned area)” under the harsh environment of -15°C outside temperature. This was the first flight in Mongolia for the purpose of transport and delivery that was officially approved by the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority.
(For more information: https://aeronext.com/news/mongolia-poc/ )

*3 Dedicated Logistics Drone AirTruck
AirTruck, the first mass-produced logistics drone developed in Japan by Aeronext, a next-generation drone technology startup, in collaboration with ACSL, achieves stable flight with Aeronext’s proprietary 4D GRAVITY^TM airframe structure design technology. AirTruck is a dedicated logistics drone that goes “faster, farther, and is more stable” with enhanced logistics, specialized for forward motion, and aerodynamic characteristics required for long-distance flight. AirTruck has flown in demonstration tests in various regions of Japan and has a top-class flight record in Japan

*4  New Logistics SkyHub^TM
A new smart logistics platform jointly developed and deployed by Aeronext and Seino HD that connects existing land transportation and drone logistics, as well as connecting ground and air infrastructure to deliver goods anytime, anywhere. An open and standardized platform with built-in drone delivery, operating from Drone Depots^TM and using cars and drones as delivery vehicles, and SkyHub^TM TMS as the base for SkyHub^TM Delivery (shopping service), SkyHub^TM Eats (food delivery), SkyHub^TM Medical (pharmaceutical delivery), as well as joint delivery of packages from different logistics companies in bulk, to develop and provide services tailored to local issues and needs.
The introduction of SkyHub^TM not only has the logistics benefits of promoting unmanned and inventory-free operations and improving last mile delivery efficiency, but also introduces a new logistics infrastructure. Where the logistics industry facing the “2024 Logistics Problem,” SkyHub^TM will contribute to solving social issues in the region, such as transportation problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, SkyHub^TM will also contribute to address regional issues such as traffic problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, as well as raise the level of satisfaction of residents and communities by improving convenience and quality of life.  In Japan, more than 9 municipalities have begun societal implementation of SkyHub^TM.

【About Aeronext Inc.】
Aeronext, an IP driven R & D technology startup for next-generation drones, is a company that designs the sky through technology to create a world where the sky becomes a social infrastructure, is economized, and solves social issues through drones. Our core technology is 4D GRAVITY^®︎, a unique structural design technology that improves basic drone performance such as stability, efficiency, and mobility of industrial drones by optimizing the center of gravity of the aircraft. In order implement this 4D GRAVITY^®︎ as standard equipment on industrial drones, we have constructed a strong patent portfolio and are promoting a partnership-based platform business for the 4D GRAVITY^® license globally.
Aeronext has also founded a subsidiary to implement the SkyHub^® smart logistics and pursue drone delivery.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/company/

*Aeronext, the Aeronext logo, and NEXT DELIVERY, as well as “4D GRAVITY®︎” are trademarks of Aeronext Inc.
*Other company names and product/service names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.