Can we soon bypass traffic jams with a drone taxi, and will the delivery we ordered at noon arrive with a drone? During the past week (March 17-20), numerous experiments and demonstrations of drone technologies took place in the airspace of Rishon LeZion. This was part of Israel's National Drone Project, in collaboration with the the Transportation Ministry, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Innovation Authority, and Ayalon Highways Company.
Demonstration flights were conducted in the western part of the city of Rishon LeZion, including surveillance and security flights along the coast, demonstrations of cargo transportation from the traffic management center, communication solutions flights, and more. Additionally, during the demonstration in Rishon, an experiment was conducted for the first time that combined several types of aircraft - helicopters, eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), and drones.
The mayor of the city, Raz Kinstlich, who observed the experiment yesterday, said: "The future is already here! The municipality of Rishon LeZion sees great importance in the experiment that will help us monitor traffic, reduce traffic jams, deliver packages or medical equipment, and provide a variety of efficient solutions for the benefit of our residents and to improve their quality of life".
The National UAV Project aims to prepare the infrastructure in Israel for the use of drones and supports the development of a thriving industry for the benefit of the public. As part of the flights carried out by the project throughout the country, the uses of drones for deliveries, transportation of medicines and medical products, monitoring, security, air taxis or vehicles that fly people and logistical equipment that carry heavy loads are examined.
Additionally, the project operates infrastructure for managing the airspace - control and monitoring systems that generate a national airspace picture and allow safe movement of vehicles in the airspace close to the ground.