Parallel Flight Technologies has announced a distribution partnership with Australian uncrewed systems provider Drone Forge to sell and support its Firefly unmanned aerial system (UAS) across the Asia-Pacific region, initially focusing on Australia and its territories.
The company said the agreement responds to growing demand for long-endurance, heavy-lift drones across defence, maritime operations, mining, wildland fire management and critical infrastructure.
Under the arrangement, Drone Forge will act as regional distributor for Firefly, covering sales, customer integration and in-region operations. Parallel Flight said Drone Forge is also expected to expand into authorised service, maintenance and training over time.
Parallel Flight chief executive Craig Stevens said the company has seen “strong inbound interest” from the region and that a local partner would help support customers.
Drone Forge chief executive Tom Symes said the Firefly platform’s hybrid propulsion is intended to provide longer range and endurance than electric-only systems, allowing longer missions with fewer interruptions.
Parallel Flight described Firefly as an NDAA-compliant Group 3 UAS manufactured in the United States. The company said the two-person-portable quadcopter is designed for defence and industrial missions, can carry up to 100 lb (45 kg), and can provide up to 2 kW of continuous in-flight power to payloads.
The company said the platform is protected by five patents and has been supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Defence Innovation Unit (DIU), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), NASA, and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The announcement positions Drone Forge to play a larger role in the deployment and sustainment of heavier-lift UAS in the region, where regulatory compliance, local servicing and training are often prerequisites for operational use in government and critical infrastructure environments.
