Airbus’ commercial drone startup takes off

The French aerospace manufacturer has launched its U.S. base and operations of a new commercial drone startup, dubbed Airbus Aerial.

   Airbus has launched the U.S. base and operations of its new commercial drone startup, dubbed Airbus Aerial, the French aerospace manufacturer said.
   The U.S.-based part of Airbus Aerial is headquartered in Atlanta.
   With bases in the U.S. and Europe, Airbus Aerial’s initial business will focus on developing new imagery services to offer actionable data and analysis of information provided by drones, satellites, high altitude aircraft and other sources.
   Airbus Aerial’s imagery services target various applications for commercial industries, including insurance, agriculture, oil and gas, and utilities, as well as state and local governments.
   “Through Airbus Aerial, we are uniquely positioned and fully committed to advancing the commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry. It is bringing together partners from across the industry – ranging from vehicle manufacturers, data analytics companies, service providers and others – to enable data-focused services at large scale,” Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke said. “Using an integrated combination of assets, from UAS platforms to satellite imagery, Airbus Aerial is rolling out a wide range of new imagery services. In the future, additional pillars of the Airbus Aerial activities will be in the area of cargo drone services as well as providing connectivity via aerial assets.”