CAMARILLO, Calif., Feb. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Sabrewing Aircraft Company, Inc., a startup that has designed and is building an unmanned Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Group 5 regional cargo carrier drone, has announced today that it has attracted significant investment from the Drone Fund (
www.dronefund.vc), Idaten Ventures (
www.idaten.vc) and several other investors.
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The Drone Fund was the lead investor, providing $1.8M in funding; with Idaten Fund and other backers each investing in the round as well. The Drone Fund and Idaten Ventures financed the company’s angel funding in January 2018. The completion of this recent funding round provides funding to complete the full-sized pre-production prototype of their Rhaegal air vehicle and to begin preliminary flight testing in anticipation of a Series A round in the 3rd quarter of 2019.
Kotaro Chiba, the General Partner/Chief Dronist and Co-Founder of the Drone Fund, states, “The shortage of pilots is a serious problem globally. Japan has shortage of truck drivers for delivering as well.” He believes, “Sabrewing's product as such is a semi-autonomous, remotely-piloted large cargo drone that will solve these critical issues, and the company has the potential to form a new transportation network using large drones.”
To date, Sabrewing has produced a 1/8 scale model of their first aircraft, following a thorough 3rd-party Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) of their internal engineering and analyses - and is actively testing hover, transition and other flight characteristics. It was Sabrewing’s rapid development of their engineering and the completion and testing of their scale model that prompted Drone Fund, Idaten Ventures and other investors to fund the additional investment to complete the pre-production prototype. Sabrewing expects to close this final round by February with an additional $1M in funding.
With continued interest from the Drone Fund and Japanese investors, Sabrewing has opened offices in Akasaka,Tokyo, Japan. “We are excited to have the continued support of the Drone Fund and to have their continued interest in Sabrewing. Our partnerships with investors continue to grow in Tokyo and we are excited to open our office and have a presence in Tokyo so that we can continue to grow and expand our relationship with investors,” said Ed De Reyes, CEO of Sabrewing Aircraft Company.
Sabrewing’s “Rhaegal” air vehicle a gas-electric hybrid that is capable of taking off and landing vertically - in mud, snow, ice, deep sand or unimproved landing areas - at speeds of up to 200 knots (370 km/hr), and in weather that is all but impossible for manned aircraft. The Rhaegal is remotely piloted for commercial operations and fully autonomous for military applications, and can deliver an 800-pound (366 kg) payload flying at altitudes of up to 22,000 feet (6,700 m) and a range of up to 360 nautical miles (670 km). The Rhaegal’s wings fold on the ground for easy ground handling and in the air for landing in tight spaces, and due to its “folding” nose (a la C-5 “Galaxy” aircraft), it requires no special equipment for loading or unloading cargo in remote locations. Both of Sabrewing’s designs – the 800-pound payload Rhaegal and the 4,400-pound payload “Wyvern” aircraft –– feature folding wings, folding nose, full pallet-sized cargo access, all-weather operation, and a first-of-its-kind five-sensor Detect and Avoid (D&A) system to autonomously navigate a path around conflicting obstacles and other air traffic. The D&A system is a collaborative effort between The University of California, Channel Islands; Oklahoma University; Garmin; FLIR; uAvionix; Iris Automation; Attollo Engineering, and Sabrewing.
Rhaegal’s possible uses include missions such as disaster/emergency response, forward-operating-position resupply and even casualty evacuation, while commercial missions include cargo delivery to locations that are not served by airports, roads or sea ports. The Wyvern has the capability of carrying loads such as well casing, palletized loads, bulk cargo, fuel and can even provide service as a forest service water tanker.
Both Rhaegal and Wyvern are regional cargo-carrying aircraft in the same class as the Cessna 208 “Caravan”, Quest Kodiak or Pilatus PC-12 “Porter” aircraft. FAA certification of the Rhaegal is planned for 2023, followed shortly thereafter by certification of the Wyvern. Sabrewing’s aircraft are not designed to compete with the Caravan, Quest or Porter – but rather to open markets for operators that are not available to conventional cargo aircraft.
For more information on Sabrewing Aircraft, contact inquiries@sabrewingaircraft.com or visit Sabrewing Aircraft Company’s https://www.sabrewingaircraft.com/.
About Sabrewing Aircraft Company
Sabrewing Aircraft Company is a manufacturer of unmanned heavy-lift commercial cargo air vehicles. The company is the creator of a new generation of heavy-lift, unmanned commercial cargo transport air vehicles that can lift 2 metric tons of cargo, take off and land vertically in austere locations, in any weather, up to 1500 nautical miles away. Our technologies and products will help grow our customers businesses and transform the way the world ships air-cargo. Headquartered in Camarillo, California, USA, and with offices in Tokyo, Japan, Sabrewing designs and develops cutting-edge technology at its “Dragonworks” Lab in the Silicon Valley to develop the future of unmanned cargo aircraft.
About The Drone Fund
Started by Japanese investors, the $9M fund to encourage drone startups. The Drone Fund hopes to establish a drone ecosystem in Japan and the United States by providing angel investment in the UAV/drone space. Drone Fund is financed by SME, which is an Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation. Their mission is to explore business opportunities and capture new demands not only Japan but to overseas. Drone Fund is participating in the "Public-Private Council for the Airmobility enabled society" as a member. The establishment of this council is also based on the fact that Drone Fund proposed this industry concept to the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).
Sabrewing has received test range permission to begin flight test in Alaska as early as the 4th quarter, 2019.
Media Contacts:
United States: Angela Crawford
201-445-0996
acrawford@lamppartners.com
Japan: Kazunori Saito
+81-90-3756-4236
kazunori.saito@sabrewingaircraft.jp
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81b0f552-cdf5-4b17-b5cd-53209fc99b37
