High Lander and Starling Inc. partner to combine next-gen, long-range VTOL with FAA-compliant BVLOS operations management

High Lander, a global provider of UAS traffic management (UTM) and drone fleet management (DFM) solutions, and Starling Inc., a leading developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) drones and ground stations, have initiated an exciting technological and commercial collaboration.

Under the terms of the MoU, the parties will combine the exceptional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of Starling’s proprietary aircraft and dock with the scalability and regulatory support of High Lander’s software solutions, creating a truly end-to-end package for complex BVLOS operations.

The combination of a domestically-produced high-performance aircraft and fully hardware-agnostic C2 and UTM software creates applications ranging from the commercial to the strategic, including critical infrastructure maintenance, public safety support such as ‘search and rescue’, and homeland security (HLS) missions such as border patrol. The companies will explore mutual opportunities worldwide, but in the USA in particular, this partnership is designed to enable private and public organizations to conduct long-range operations at scale and in full compliance with the FAA’s new beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) framework.

Specifically, High Lander and Starling will integrate Starling’s high-performance VTOL (Pathfinder-X) and corresponding docking station (Starling Hub) with High Lander’s operating system (Orion DFM) and airspace management solution (Vega UTM).

The Pathfinder-X is a high-performance aircraft with powerful strategic capabilities, boasting a top speed of 160 km/hr, mission endurance of over 2.5 hours on a single battery charge, an advanced EO-IR camera for day and night operations, and a powerful onboard AI processor. It’s paired with the Starling Hub, an advanced ground station that performs autonomous battery swaps in seconds, enabling persistent surveillance around-the-clock. This dock is one of the lighter docks on the market and has advanced capabilities like integrated cameras and built-in health diagnostics, all while protecting the Pathfinder-X from the harshest elements.

High Lander’s systems will act as a significant force multiplier to this cutting-edge hardware. Orion DFM, a hardware-agnostic fleet management solution, provides a powerful C2 center for drone fleets of any size and at any distance. It will provide operators with real-time precision control of unlimited numbers of drones, autonomous operations and rapid response capabilities, advanced data analytics and comms sharing.

Operations will be overseen by Vega UTM, a UAS traffic management solution providing real-time airspace awareness, conformance monitoring, strategic and tactical deconfliction, geo-awareness data sharing and flight plan authorizations from a single intuitive dashboard. Built to the highest international regulatory standards, Vega fulfills all requirements for ADSPs as defined in the FAA’s Part 146 legislation and can provide Part 108 operators with operational certificates up to Service Level 3.

“This is a very exciting partnership that takes the drone-in-a-box concept to the next level and highlights the advantage of our hardware-agnostic approach to integration,” said Alon Abelson, CEO and founder of High Lander Aviation. “By combining Starling’s best-in-class hardware with an advanced, scalable operating system and full regulatory support, we’re providing a game-changer for organizations that wish to conduct deep, long-range operations at scale under a single C2 system. We’re excited to deepen our inventory of VTOL aircraft and cutting-edge dock solutions with Starling, a leader in the field.”

“We’re proud to partner with High Lander and integrate our Pathfinder-X fixed wing eVTOL drone-in-a-box with their native C2 capabilities and UTM layer,” said Ido Gur, CEO of Starling Inc. “Our aircraft and ground station already provide operators with the best in the market; this new integration will create countless new use-cases in the US and beyond, and we’re excited to begin exploring new markets and opportunities together.”