Kite Aero
"Making access to the skies seamless."
Sydney drone maker formed in 2025 from Swoop Aero's assets; its KITE eVTOL carries up to 4 kg over a 240 km one-way range for medical logistics.
Kite Aero, whose legal entity is Kite Aerospace Pty Ltd, is an Australian uncrewed aviation company that builds the KITE long-range logistics drone and the AXIOM drone operations software. It is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and is led by co-founder and chief executive Philip van der Burg. The company was launched in early 2025 and in March 2025 acquired key assets of Swoop Aero, the medical drone delivery operator whose creditors had voted for liquidation in November 2024; the assets included the Kite aircraft and Swoop's operations software platform. Kite Aero has stated an open-platform strategy, opening its software stack and avionics to third-party integration and re-engaging former Swoop staff and industry partners.
KITE is a fully electric, fully redundant powered-lift (eVTOL) fixed-wing aircraft. Its published specifications are a maximum take-off weight of 26.5 kg, maximum payload of 4 kg, cruise speed of 115 km/h and maximum speed of 200 km/h, and a one-way range of 240 km or return range of 115 km with a 2.5 kg payload. Wingspan is 2.72 m, the wind limit is 18 m/s in hover and cruise, operating temperature runs from -5 to 45 degrees C and the altitude limit is 3,000 m AMSL; the aircraft tolerates light rain of 2 mm/hr but not icing. Command and control runs over SATCOM and LTE. The payload bay measures 250 x 125 x 205 mm with top and bottom access, the airframe is modular for in-field maintenance, and the aircraft ships in a 133 x 98 x 57.5 cm transport case. Listed roles are transport, live video, mapping and search and rescue.
AXIOM is presented as an operating system for scaling drone operations, enabling many-to-one pilot-to-aircraft operations with every route automatically checked before flight. The company cites AXIOM data from more than 41,000 autonomous flights in support of operator safety cases.
Most deployments are medical logistics flown by partner operators. Skyy Network flies KITE for the MedLife healthcare network in Romania; Valkyrie UAS Solutions flies it for Mid-America Transplant in the United States for organ transport; The Luke Commission's pilots operate it on the Nkwe Drone Network in Eswatini; and vaccines and laboratory samples are carried in Malawi, where ArgenTech Solutions used KITE and AXIOM at the WFP SimEX 2025 exercise. In September 2026 Drone Solutions International received Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe approval for beyond-visual-line-of-sight medical and pathology deliveries using KITE. Other partners named by the company include Skyports Drone Services, Astral Aviation, EBOS, UAV AID, UNICEF, UPS, UK Aid, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the World Economic Forum.
In September 2026 the company began KITE production with Sykes Advanced Manufacturing at its aerospace-grade composite facility in Geelong, Victoria, described as sovereign and Five Eyes aligned, and is working towards a 100-unit pipeline.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
KITE UAS
Fully electric VTOL fixed-wing drone for long-range logistics, carrying up to 4 kg with SATCOM and LTE links.
AXIOM
Drone operations software for many-to-one piloting with automated pre-flight route checks.
- Sykes Advanced Manufacturing (KITE production, 2026)
- Skyy Network
- Valkyrie UAS Solutions
- Drone Solutions International
- ArgenTech Solutions
- The Luke Commission
- Skyports Drone Services
- Astral Aviation
- UAV AID
- EBOS
- UNICEF
- UPS
- UK Aid
- Australian Government (DFAT)
- World Economic Forum
- MedLife (via Skyy Network)
- Mid-America Transplant (via Valkyrie UAS Solutions)
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Contact Kite Aero
WEBSITE
https://kite.aeroHEADQUARTERS
Australia
Company Facts
Founded
2025
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
employees 10-50
Primary Region
Oceania
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
Export Markets
Keywords
- Kite Aero
- Kite Aerospace
- Kite Aerospace Pty Ltd
- bvlos
- long-range drone
- medical drone delivery
- vtol fixed-wing
- axiom
- drone operations software
- satcom
- humanitarian logistics
- one-to-many piloting
- Manufacturer
- Software/Algorithm
- Drone/eVTOL
- Cloud & Data
- Delivery Drone
- Fixed Wing
- Fleet Management
- Logistics & Supply Chain
