V-TOL Aerospace
Rocklea, Queensland UAV firm founded 2004; its ROTA-FIX drone fits hazard markers to power lines and has been used by eight utilities in two countries.
V-TOL Aerospace Pty Ltd is an Australian unmanned aircraft company based at the Rocklea Junction Business Park in Rocklea, Brisbane, Queensland. It was established in 2004 as a commercial UAV business operating under Australia's CASR Part 101 rules and has grown into a vertically integrated unmanned aerial systems group covering aircraft and robotics design, flight operations, training and support. It holds CASA ARN 750 709 and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operator's Certificate ReOC 0074, and its training arm, the Australian Unmanned Systems Academy (AUSA), established in 2009, is a registered training organisation (RTO 45260) delivering RePL, ReOC and certificate-level courses. Mark Xavier is chief executive, Robert Hughes chief operating officer and Dr Kye Morton chief technology officer.
Its main robotics product for utilities is ROTA-FIX, a patent-pending system in which a drone, the ROTA-FIX Hornet, installs Balmoral Engineering's ROTAMARKA bird and aircraft hazard markers on energised or de-energised overhead power lines, replacing helicopter or elevated-platform work. ROTAMARKA is distributed globally by SICAME Group, both products are made in Australia, and industry testing was carried out by Energy Queensland. V-TOL says it has been engaged by eight utilities in two countries. Published jobs include Powercor and AusNet in Victoria, Powerlink Queensland at the Swanbank precinct and beside Origin Energy's Darling Downs power station, Ausgrid conductors over a seaplane landing zone on the Hawkesbury River, and line marking with WaterNSW and Transgrid in the Illawarra water catchment. Its largest single job installed hundreds of markers at the Holsworthy Military Training Range in New South Wales on Transgrid lines, cleared by the Australian Army, with GenusPlus Group as prime contractor.
The second line is Pegasus, a family of solar-electric fixed-wing drones developed under a joint development agreement with ASX-listed battery maker Li-S Energy and perovskite solar-cell maker Halocell Energy. Pegasus I (Mk.I) is a sub-25 kg aircraft for low-level infrastructure survey, AI-based fault detection and communications relay; Pegasus II is planned as a large high-altitude, long-endurance platform. The project received A$1.35 million from the Australian Government's Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships programme in 2024, and airframe flight testing began at a model-aircraft field in southeast Queensland after 12 months of design work. In a Queensland trial reported by RobotToday in October 2026, a Pegasus airframe with a Li-S Energy lithium-sulfur battery pack flew for nearly two hours and more than 75 km on one pack.
V-TOL also sells aircraft design, sensor integration, IoT, embedded programming and AI R&D services, and flight services for surveying, inspection, surveillance and forensics. Related ventures listed on its site are Digital Twin Energy, which applies robotics and AI to energy infrastructure management, and Ariel.care, which uses aerospace-grade sensors for healthcare monitoring. Clients cited include the World Bank, foreign governments, ASX 200 companies and all levels of Australian government.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
ROTA-FIX
Patent-pending drone system that installs ROTAMARKA hazard markers on energised or de-energised power lines.
Pegasus I
Sub-25 kg solar-electric fixed-wing drone for infrastructure survey, AI fault detection and comms relay.
Pegasus II
Planned large solar-electric high-altitude, long-endurance drone for communications relay and monitoring.
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Contact V-TOL Aerospace
WEBSITE
https://v-tol.comPHONE
+61 7 3275 2811HEADQUARTERS
Australia
Company Facts
Founded
2004
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Oceania
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
Certifications & Memberships
Keywords
- V-TOL Aerospace
- V-TOL
- V-TOL Aerospace Pty Ltd
- power line marker installation
- rota-fix
- rotamarka
- solar-powered drone
- lithium-sulfur battery
- drone pilot training
- reoc flight services
- utility infrastructure
- bvlos
- Manufacturer
- Service Company
- Drone/eVTOL
- Fixed Wing
- Inspection Drone
- Oil
- Gas & Energy
- Defense & Security
