Cargo drone airline Dronamics has completed the first flight of its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan, at Balchik airport in Bulgaria.

This, says the Sofia-based company, demonstrates the potential for the logistics industry to enhance efficiency in the transportation of products.

Born out of two brothers’ desire to find a quicker, greener and more affordable way to deliver goods, Dronamics is on a mission to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere. This milestone is the culmination of months of ground testing and subscale flights.

The Black Swan aircraft was remotely piloted by two commercial airline pilots from the Dronamics ground control station.

The flight test validates the company’s licensed cargo drone technology for commercial flights in Europe, set to begin later this year, serving various industries with a fast and cost-effective way to meet evolving consumer needs.

“Since the day we first imagined what the Black Swan aircraft could look like, we’ve worked towards this flight,” said Konstantin Rangelov, co-founder and CTO of Dronamics. “Today we’ve made history and are proud to have demonstrated the validity of our drone technology.”

His brother Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and CEO of Dronamics, added: “It’s taken an enormous amount of hard work, belief and drive to prove that what we envisioned works. We can now focus on the next step, the roll-out of our commercial operations, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Dronamics is a developer and operator of large, long-range drones built for cargo. Its flagship Black Swan is able to carry 350kg at a distance of up to 2500km at a claimed up to 80% faster, 50% cheaper and with up to 60% lower emissions than alternative modes of transport, including airfreight. This enables same-day shipping over long distances for industries from pharma to food, from ecommerce to spare parts.

Dronamics is Europe’s first licensed cargo drone airline and the IATA’s first partner for drones worldwide.

The company has raised $40m in pre-series A funding from early-stage funds and angel investors from 12 countries and is co-funded by the European Union under the European Innovation Council, Europe’s flagship innovation programme.