Heron AirBridge Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) has announced the signing of a Strategic Business Alliance Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with iROBOTICS Inc. (Tokyo) and KYC Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), a subsidiary of KYC Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. (Osaka).
This landmark partnership is set to merge the technological resources and expertise of all three companies to jointly develop, integrate, demonstrate, and commercially deploy advanced drone operation solutions.
The collaboration will focus on promoting R&D and commercialisation with enhanced safety and efficiency, primarily targeting markets in Japan and Singapore, with subsequent expansion into international markets.
Heron’s Digital Platform and Vision
Heron AirBridge, headquartered in Singapore, is driven by the vision of “accessible, safe, and secured low-altitude airspace, enabling innovation while safeguarding public safety and privacy.”
Heron AirBridge provides a digital platform that unifies fleet management and UTM services, integrating with a wide range of drones, docks, and other hardware.
Known as AirBridge, the platform manages drone fleets and advanced air traffic for UAM/UAS. This flexible, world-class system was developed with support from the Singapore government and is highly interoperable and compliant with evolving UAS regulations.
Through this alliance, Heron AirBridge will provide its core expertise, including deep experience in complex urban airspace, like in Singapore:
- Quick mission planning for emergency responses.
- Integrated mission management with strategic deconfliction (collision avoidance by flight path adjustment) and conformance monitoring (flight rule compliance surveillance).
- Shared airspace awareness for all users and stakeholders.
“We are truly honoured to be chosen as the strategic partner by iROBOTICS and KYC Asia for this groundbreaking initiative. Heron AirBridge recognises that Japan is a key market for us to build partnerships, know-how, and capabilities in advanced air traffic management and unmanned aviation. Drone Field Kawachi (DFK) in Ibaraki Prefecture provides Heron with the necessary airspace to test the full capabilities of our solution, particularly in enabling BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operations. By collaborating with these established leaders, we are committed to helping support the wide deployment of drones in Japan to underpin future logistics, infrastructure inspection, and emergency operations. This alliance will accelerate the commercialisation of our unified UTM platform, making low-altitude airspace safer and more accessible across Asia.” Ryan Lee, CEO & Co-founder, Heron Airbridge.
Key Collaboration Details
The MoU outlines several immediate and long-term joint initiatives:
- Joint Product Development: Heron’s UTM platform and iROBOTICS’ drone solutions/automation services will be integrated to develop and test an initial solution. This system will be designed to safely manage multiple drones, enabling remote and autonomous flight operations.
- Joint Market Feasibility Study: The parties will evaluate the potential for joint business deployment of drone solutions across Japan, Singapore, and the Asia-Pacific region.
- Demonstration Experiments: Technical verification will be conducted using the developed product at Drone Field KAWACHI (DFK) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, and other locations. Scenarios will include multi-drone mission management, strategic deconfliction, and conformance monitoring.
- Path to Long-Term Partnership: The companies aim to transition the strategic partnership into a comprehensive, long-term collaboration, including negotiations for comprehensive contracts on commercialisation, IP handling, and joint sales structures.
Outlook for Commercialisation
The global UAS digital aviation market is projected to reach approximately $3.2 billion by 2030, with the Asia-Pacific region anticipated to grow at a 19.1% annual rate.
Based on insights from joint R&D and demonstrations, the companies plan to commercially deploy the integrated drone solution in Japan and Singapore starting in 2026.
This solution will address customer needs in various sectors, including infrastructure inspection, logistics, and intelligent city surveillance. The long-term vision includes expanding into the broader Southeast Asian and global markets.
This collaboration is a strategic step for all parties to establish market leadership in the rapidly growing drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sectors.
