CHENNAI: Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) have successfully completed the country’s first intra-city drone delivery trials in Bengaluru, marking a significant step in urban logistics and technology-led supply chains.
Conducted under the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT-M, the trials validated a mid-mile aerial logistics corridor linking Electronic City Phase II with a site near Bengaluru international airport. The exercise tested high-speed drone operations in dense urban airspace, assessing their potential to cut transit time and reduce dependence on congested roads.
According to the study, a 53-km road journey taking over 60 minutes was replaced by a 39–42 km aerial route, bringing one-way delivery time down to about 21 minutes. The flights operated at 120 metres and navigated designated airport zones with approvals from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Nitin Navneet Tatiwala, Vice President at FedEx, said the milestone reflects the company’s broader push towards future-ready, resilient and sustainable supply chain ecosystems through innovation in air cargo, electric mobility and demand forecasting.
Prof Satyanarayanan R Chakravarthy of IIT-M said the trials move beyond theory to demonstrate high-impact, future-ready solutions in logistics. Prof. Arshinder Kaur added that the initiative underscores the centre’s focus on accelerating advanced supply chain technologies.
The trials were implemented by Amber Wings, a deep-tech start-up incubated at IIT-M, with safety systems including autonomous termination, return-to-home and anti-collision features.