Wingcopter to deploy 12,000 drones in African delivery network

German delivery drone specialist Wingcopter has formed a partnership with an African UAV services company in an effort to create what is being called the world’s largest commercial and medical aerial logistics network, ultimately aiming to cover 49 nations on the continent.

Wingcopter revealed the project Thursday, saying it is partnering with Continental Drones to deploy what is eventually expected to be 12,000 Wingcopter 198 delivery drones across the vast African continent. The time frame for building that goods and medical transport network is five years, and will rely entirely on Wingcopter fixed wing UAVs that can carry up to 13 lbs. of payload in up to three different, winch-lowered packages over maximum distances of 68 miles.

The delivery network will be overseen by Continental Drones – the subsidiary of Ghana- and Dubai-based based Atlantic Trust Holding – in its new role as a Wingcopter authorized partner. The objective is to rapidly set…