Hogan Lovells advised Ondas Holdings' Airobotics Optimus 1-EX Drone in securing US FAA Type Certification
Hogan Lovells advised Ondas Holdings' Airobotics Optimus 1-EX Drone in securing US FAA Type Certification
It is the first-of-its-kind for a non-air carrier operation achieved after four years of intensive engineering
Global law firm Hogan Lovells has advised leading commercial drone manufacturer Airobotics Limited in securing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Type Certification for its Optimus-1EX system.
By way of this endorsement, Airobotics offers local governments and commercial entities a revolutionary solution to streamline aerial data capture using a safe and certified airworthy drone infrastructure.
It has paved the way for a permanent drone infrastructure for ‘smart city’ solutions, enhanced public safety, enabled Drone as First Responder (DFR) capabilities, and provided various commercial and industrial aerial data services.
The certification complies with the FAA’s airworthiness and noise standards, ensuring safe operation within the National Airspace System (NAS). It significantly broadens the range of operational scenarios and scaling up of operations for automated Uncrewed Aircraft (UAs).
The company plans to leverage its experience internationally in the United Arab Emirates and Israel, where the Optimus system is currently deployed, along with the newly-type certificated drone, to conduct similar smart city and public safety operations in urban environments across the US.
Lisa Ellman, the Partner, and Chair of Hogan Lovells’ Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) practice, remarked, “We are proud to have worked with Airobotics to achieve FAA certification for its innovative drone fleet infrastructure, which we are confident will enhance public safety and advance innovation. Drones have incredible societal benefits, and approvals like that issued to Airobotics are an important step to enable the industry to scale here in the United States.”
Niv Russo, the Vice President of Aviation and Regulatory at Airobotics said, “We are proud that our Optimus-1EX has met the rigorous standards of the FAA’s certification processes, and we look forward to scaling our operations in the United States. We are grateful for Hogan Lovells’ continued support in the UAS regulatory process.”
The legal team of Hogan Lovells included Lisa Ellman and Senior Associate Matt Clark (Washington, D.C.).
