iscover
Australian drone management firm FlyFreely has expanded into the US.
The Queensland-based company, which is also cleared to operate in Australia and New Zealand, has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate as part of the Low Altitude Authorisation and Notification Capability (LAANC).
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
LAANC supports integrating drones and other unmanned aerial systems into controlled airspace, and FlyFreely’s approval follows a “stringent, five-month-long” process to ensure its cyber security was tight enough to work with systems in use by the US government.
“We’ve been growing steadily since 2016 and have established ourselves as the most trusted drone management platform in Australia, with more than 12,000 registered users,” co-founder and CEO Dr David Cole said.
“Following a successful expansion into New Zealand in 2022, the US was the next logical step and we’re excited for the opportunity.
“The US has some of the toughest data security regulations in the world, so to have that validation that our processes meet those standards gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
The platform supports cloud-based flight log syncing for DJI, Skydio and DroneDeploy, and has a mobile app with offline capability for mission planning and execution; it can also be installed on smart controllers to allow operators to automatically retrieve flight logs.
According to FlyFreely, it was created “from the ground up” by drone operators for commercial UAS operations, fleet management, and compliance, and is used by multinational companies such as Glencore, AECOM and Aurecon.
“It’s a game-changer for customers that have offices in Australia, New Zealand and the US, as it ensures they can operate through the one platform,” Cole said.
“We have also added support for Canada and Mexico, for companies operating across the entirety of the North American continent.
“Our popular offline mode, which allows users to use our technology while they’re in the field, and sometimes out of service, is also accessible in all countries we operate in.”
