Dronamics Continues Redefining Cargo Drones with EUR 30M of EIC STEP Funding

• Dronamics secures EUR 30M from EIC under STEP to scale cargo drone operations
• Focus areas include flight testing, manufacturing expansion, and first commercial flight launches
• Plans include a manufacturing facility in the UAE and continued R&D in Bulgaria
• Partnerships and certifications position Dronamics as a key player in Europe’s strategic mobility

This June, Bulgaria’s famous cargo drone developer Dronamics announced having raised a Venture round of EUR 30M from the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). The current investment follows Dronamics’ grants from EIC of EUR 2.5M in 2022 and EUR 20M in 2024.

The Partners in a Nutshell

Dronamics is the world’s first cargo drone airline, pioneering large, long-range drones for freight. Its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan, can transport 350 kg up to 2,500 km—delivering cargo up to 80% faster, 50% cheaper, and with 60% fewer emissions than traditional airfreight. This innovation enables same-day delivery across sectors like pharmaceuticals, food, e-commerce, and spare parts. Dronamics is the first licensed cargo drone airline in Europe and the first drone company to become an IATA Strategic Partner. The company is proud of its rapidly growing team and its deep expertise in aerospace, logistics, and technology that shapes the future of sustainable, on-demand cargo logistics.

STEP is an EU initiative launched in 2024 to coordinate and scale up investments in critical technologies across 11 funding programmes like Horizon Europe, InvestEU, and the European Defence Fund. It directs equity funding through the STEP Scale‑Up scheme, managed by the European Innovation Council Fund, offering EUR 10M–30M per company to catalyse larger funding rounds of EUR 50M–150M. STEP targets strategic areas—digital/deep‑tech, clean technologies, and biotechnology—and awards a STEP Seal to high‑quality projects, enhancing visibility and access to additional EU funding and investors.

Progress, Challenges, and Scaling Up with STEP

ITKeyMedia talked to Dronamics in 2023 when the company was crowdfunding on SeedBlink. Today, we decided to approach the company’s co-founder and CEO Svilen Rangelov once again to talk about how well Dronamics’ plans are working out, its overall progress, its plans in view of the new funding from EIC, and its overall place in Europe’s future.

The last time we talked was in Summer 2023. What are the main milestones Dronamics has covered and challenges you’ve overcome since then?

Svilen Rangelov: 2023 marked a major milestone for Dronamics. We proved the operational viability of our cargo drone technology with the successful first flight of our full-scale Black Swan aircraft. Since, our rigorous flight test campaign continues and remains our top operational priority.

Meanwhile, the advanced air mobility landscape in Europe has shifted significantly. In the past year alone, we’ve seen several well-funded European players falter for different reasons. Our approach, to create a cargo-first aircraft, which is more efficient to build and operate than current options; as well as the pragmatic design decisions we took early on, such as fixed wing, traditional propulsion aircraft, piloted remotely, have allowed us to have the most advanced cargo drone program in Europe so far.

Particularly, can you share progress updates on your Global Network Operations Centre in Malta? Have you hit the target operational date, and how are staffing and tech infrastructure evolving?

SR: The GNOC in Malta remains a key piece of our future operational architecture as the BVLOS regulations for drones of our size evolve and allow for one-to-many operations. In the meantime, we continue to prove our technology in one-to-one operations with our remote pilots operating from the testing grounds.

Dronamics’ manufacturing partnerships in Europe and Australia were announced sometime earlier. What production capacity milestones have you reached since then, and what’s next?

SR: We are looking to leverage the know-how we have built over the past years of in-house prototyping and build an OEM model across different territories.

We have plans for a large-scale production facility in the Middle East, supported by our investor – the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) of Abu Dhabi. This facility will have a capacity of up to 300 aircraft annually, with a target of reaching full output by 2030.

Parallel to that, our R&D and Innovation hub in Bulgaria remains our core engine for prototyping and Design for Manufacturing readiness.

Can you walk us through Dronamics’ integration effort with Mediterranean and EU airspace management systems progressing, particularly around autonomy, air traffic coordination, and cross-border flights?

SR: We’re actively working with regulatory bodies across Europe to ensure seamless airspace integration and have so far unlocked authorizations for flights in several countries. After all, Dronamics is the first and only cargo drone airline with a LUC (Light UAS Operator Certificate) in Europe.

What autonomous or AI-driven advancements have been made to the Black Swan’s navigation, collision avoidance, and health monitoring since its first flight?

SR: Aviation hails one of the earliest models of AI – the autopilot. Still, due to the fact that AI models sometimes hallucinate still, AI is not yet adopted as part of the aviation regulatory frameworks.

Our convinced view is that automation drives safety-critical operations, such as the pilot’s role in flight oversight and control, whereas AI can be adopted for non-safety critical operations such as data mining from flight data monitoring, optimization of the fleet management, etc.

Is it correct to understand that Dronamics’ partnerships with Zero Petroleum and Cranfield Aerospace hint at fuel innovation? If so, how advanced are your tests on sustainable fuels for Black Swan, and what are the results?

SR: Because of the design and engineering decisions we have taken early on, the Black Swan is optimized for cargo and therefore extremely fuel efficient – reducing carbon emissions by up to 60% today. We do have plans for getting this number even lower and they include partnerships with SAF developers and suppliers like Zero Petroleum and the exploration of hydrogen fuel cell technology with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions.

How will the raised EUR 30M be allocated/shared across Dronamics’ key priorities—such as R&D, fleet production scaling, GNOC operations, or regulatory readiness?

SR: We plan on focusing across three core priorities:

• completing the flight test program,
• expanding our prototyping and manufacturing capabilities,
• and ultimately, launching our first commercial flights.

What policy or infrastructure changes could accelerate Dronamics’ commercial rollout, especially across underserved regions?

SR: One of our strengths is that we don’t need to build infrastructure but rather use existing one – there are 50,000 airfields worldwide and only a small percentage of these receive regular air service. Our droneport model is based on operating from existing airfields and small airports where we can deploy quickly and affordably. We have deployed droneport equipment and have performed tests at five different airports to date, accumulating know-how in infrastructure-light droneport deployment.

Overall, how do you foresee Dronamics’ role in Europe’s strategic autonomy?

SR: Trade is the backbone of the economy and there is no trade without the movement of cargo. We saw this during COVID—when everything else stopped, cargo continued moving. Dronamics is the only European company to repeatedly build, test and fly large cargo drones made entirely in Europe. With the continuous support of the EIC to Dronamics, the EIC is clearly demonstrating Europe’s commitment to taking a proactive role in securing its technological future and European strategic autonomy. According to the EIC evaluation, which includes an independent jury of experts, Dronamic’s innovative technology has the potential to generate significant societal and economic benefits, aligning with the European Union’s priorities for economic growth and territorial cohesion.

Dronamics is redefining cargo logistics in Europe and beyond with its pioneering drone technology and infrastructure-light approach. Its continued partnership with EIC, including significant backing under the STEP initiative recently, highlights the company’s strategic importance for Europe’s technological autonomy. Dronamics’ prospective operations and commercial flights are set to play a key role in building a more resilient, efficient, and connected European supply chain.