Swoop Aero launches Congo mission

This Australian start-up is using an extensive drone network to help the fight against COVID-19, ebola and other major diseases.

Swoop Aero. Picture: Swoop Aero

Swoop Aero chief executive Eric Peck says he is leading from the front, and on Friday boarded a flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he and his team will use drones to join the government in its fight against COVID-19, ebola and other major diseases.

Peck, a Melbourne-based former air force pilot turned start-up founder, says after months of preparation and delays Swoop is ready to launch “phase two” of its ambitious medical drone program.

The company is using funding from the Gates Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and Crown Family Philanthropies Foundation to establish a medical drone logistics network that will cover 22,000 square kilometres across the Congo, and serve up to a million people.

“This is one of the most challenging parts of the world and it‘s the epicentre of the ebola outbreak in Central Africa,” Peck tells The Australian. “It’s going to be a big implementation, and a big network. We’re going to have local staff who are training at the moment in Malawi, for piloting and aviation roles, and then we’ll be ready to kick off stage three, which is sustained implementation.”

CEO Eric Peck, Swoop Aero. Picture: Swoop Aero

The executive says his drone network will deliver medical products to 25 health centres, and indirectly to an additional 45 health facilities, focusing in particular on childhood vaccine deliveries and on emergency transport of laboratory samples for COVID-19 and ebola, with the aim of improving access to critical medical commodities and test results.

Swoop had originally planned to do this in March, before COVID-19 took hold and Australia issued its international travel ban to mitigate transmission of the virus.

Peck says a trial in July and August 2019, in the Congo’s Equateur province, proved that drones could provide a next-generation supply chain program. Swoop’s remote aircraft flew 25kg of immunisation products, medicines and medical supplies to rural health centres in five days, and enabled vaccinations for 470 children in remote areas.

He says it was the success of this trial that led to planning longer-term operations, and that the lockdown in Victoria had significantly impacted the capacity of organisations to run everyday operations overseas in an effort to combat COVID-19, despite their intention and ability to support the global pandemic response efforts.

“I’ve generally been there for the launch of post of the operations we’ve done to date, and now with COVID-19, it’s created a particularly challenging situation for everyone, but in particular for the companies that rely on that ability to be globally mobile to deploy and to create revenue. And that’s been our bread and butter,” Peck says.

“Ours will be the biggest medical drone logistics network that’s been launched anywhere in the world, this is really big deal for us. For me it was important to be there. One of my philosophies in leadership is to lead by example, and as the CEO I’m sure it would be comfortable to work from the home office and talk to everyone on Slack, but I think it’s important to set the example for everyone and get out there and do the work.”

Swoop Aero co-founder and chief technology officer Josh Tepper says the platform is designed and manufactured in Melbourne and is one of a kind in the world.

“We have proven it is working in the most challenging places in the world. In DRC, large parts of the network will solely rely on satellite only communications, due to lack of mobile phone and internet communications in rural remote areas.”

The first drones are due to take flight in mid-October.