FedEx, IIT Madras test high-speed urban drone logistics

FedEx and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have successfully completed India’s first intra-city drone delivery trials in Bengaluru, marking a major milestone in the evolution of urban logistics.

Conducted under the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT Madras, the trials validated a mid-mile aerial logistics corridor connecting Electronic City Phase II with a site near Bangalore International Airport Limited. The initiative tested high-speed drone operations in complex urban airspace, assessing their ability to enhance efficiency while reducing dependence on congested road networks.

The trials, using an Amber Wings drone, which is a Ubifly Technologies company, demonstrated that a 53-kilometre road journey—typically taking over 60 minutes—can be replaced by an aerial route of approximately 39–42 kilometres. This reduced one-way transit time to nearly 21 minutes, highlighting the potential for step-change improvements in time-critical logistics.

The drone operated through controlled airspace, including Yellow and Red Zones, with all necessary permissions secured from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Adding industry perspective, Vinay M K, CEO of Amber Wings, said: “This trial is the proof point we've been building for urban air mobility. Bengaluru's airspace is one of the most complex in the country. We operationally achieved this in collaboration with a leading UTM software while navigating multiple yellow & red zones near an international airport, at scale, with full clearances. Cutting delivery times from a couple of hours to 25 minutes on a real mid-mile corridor offers immense business value. At Amber Wings, we've always said the drone logistics question in India isn't if — it's who has the airframe, the certifications, and the operational discipline to execute it safely at volume. Today, in collaboration with the FedEx Smart Center at IIT Madras, we clearly showed the answer.”

Amber Wings, a deep-tech start-up incubated at IIT Madras, was the implementation partner for the trials. The drone used in the trials is built on the ATVA platform, with a maximum payload capacity of six kilograms. During the Bengaluru operations, the payload carried was approximately two kilograms.

Flights were conducted at an altitude of 120 metres, in line with regulatory guidelines, and incorporated multiple safety systems including autonomous flight termination, return-to-home capability, and anti-collision strobe lighting.

Commenting on the milestone, Nitin Navneet Tatiwala, Vice President – Marketing, Customer Experience, and Air Network (MEISA), FedEx, said, “Innovation is central to how FedEx enables global commerce. This milestone reflects the FedEx SMART Centre’s broader research agenda across air cargo optimisation, electric vehicle integration, and advanced demand forecasting. Together, these efforts are focused on shaping future-ready, resilient and sustainable supply chain ecosystems in partnership with academia, industry and policymakers.”

Satyanarayanan R. Chakravarthy, core faculty member at the FedEx SMART Centre and the Founder of The ePlane Company (another Ubifly Technologies company), added: “These trials represent a significant leap in our mission to create a sustainable and progressive supply chain model. By integrating advanced aerial robotics into urban logistics, we are moving beyond theoretical research to prove the efficacy of high-impact, future-ready solutions that can redefine the global logistics landscape.”

The successful trials underscore the growing role of drone-enabled mid-mile logistics in India’s evolving supply chain ecosystem. By significantly reducing delivery times and bypassing urban congestion, such solutions could become critical for time-sensitive cargo movement.