Terra Drone Corporation, a leading drone and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology company headquartered in Japan, is pleased to announce that, its Saudi Arabian subsidiary Terra Drone Arabia participated as the technical partner and drone operator in a pioneering initiative launched by the National Unified Procurement Company (NUPCO), in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Health. The initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of medical supply delivery during the Hajj season of 1446H (the 2025 Hajj was held from June 4 to June 9) using drone technologies.
The Background of the Project
Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is a religious pilgrimage that draws more than two million pilgrims from around the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia each year.
This initiative marks a proactive step in utilizing modern technologies to support the healthcare sector. It addresses the logistical challenges posed by the massive crowds in the holy sites, particularly in Mina and Arafat (1), where traditional ground transport can take more than 1.5 hours. In contrast, drones can reduce delivery times to under 6 minutes, directly improving emergency medical response times.
A drone delivering medical supplies
The Project Overview
As the technical operator of the initiative, Terra Drone Arabia deployed DJI Matrice350 RTK drones equipped with specially designed transport boxes to ensure the safe handling of medical supplies by maintaining the required temperature conditions. The drone operations were managed using the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system developed by Unifly, a group company of Terra Drone in Belgium, ensuring both efficiency and safety. The UTM is used to enable real-time tracking of drone positions and resolve potential conflicts between drones and other airspace users, issuing alerts, and providing landing instructions. The company also ensured the highest standards of air safety were applied, leveraging integrated safety systems compliant with operational requirements in densely populated areas.
Operations were conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and coordinated with several regulatory bodies, including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation, helping to establish a safe and organized operational environment.
UTM interface displaying drone flight operations
Future Prospects
Through its subsidiary Terra Drone Arabia, Terra Drone has successfully implemented drone-based medical deliveries during the Hajj, contributing to the optimization of medical logistics. Looking ahead, Terra Drone will continue to expand the adoption of drone technologies not only in the medical field but also across various key sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, contributing to the development of sustainable infrastructure along with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The impact of this project on Terra Drone’s consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending January 2026 is expected to be minimal. Should any matters requiring disclosure arise in the future, an announcement will be made without delay.
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