Quickstep signs $1.5 m deal to manufacture for drone delivery company






Composites specialist Quickstep Holdings has announced a manufacturing partnership with UAV logistics company Swoop Aero and a stake in Swoop’s parent company, Kookaburra Aerospace.

Quickstep said in a statement that a contract with an initial order value of $1.5 million would see them provide engineering and manufacturing services, as well as an initial production run of ship sets for Swoop’s KITE cargo drone, going through to mid-2022.

Quickstep CEO Mark Burgess described the partnership as involving “the very best in Australian advanced manufacturing, software development and ingenuity” being delivered to the world. 

There would be scope to provide a much larger volume if sales forecasts were met, according to Quickstep. 

As well as the order, Quickstep said it had signed an agreement for $2 million in convertible notes, “which may convert into a larger stake in Kookaburra”.

Swoop’s CEO and co-founder Eric Peck said that the deal helped the company stay true to a vision of keeping innovation and manufacturing here, as well as guaranteeing his team could meet demand, “with up to 1,000 aircraft already planned for manufacture in 2022.” 

The news follows the announcement in July that Quickstep — traditionally a supplier of composite components for the Joint Strike Fighter and the C-130J Super Hercules — had invested in Sydney UAV company Carbonix. At the time it also announced its new Quickstep Advanced Air Mobility (QAAM) division.

Picture: Swoop Aero

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