Nearly 6 tons of coffee were transported by UAV down the mountain

In September, 118 UAV flights brought coffee from raw material areas in Muong Ang, Dien Bien to preliminary processing and production areas. According to Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Dien Bien Nguyen Ba Anh, each trip has a load of 50 kg and is carried out in licensed areas.

Not only transporting agricultural products, Muong Ang also tested spraying using UAVs. With a hill area of ​​1 hectare, the equipment takes 7-10 minutes to spray, while manual labor on steep slope terrain can take 3-4 hours.

A representative of the Department said that this is the “initial result” of the controlled testing program (sandbox) of unmanned aerial vehicles for low-altitude economic development, licensed by the People’s Committee of Dien Bien province in June.

Through actual operations, the flights “basically meet the requirements of flight route, range, load and transportation purpose”, Mr. Ba Anh said, adding that the transition from “paper research to reality” helps the province form data on UAV operations in complex terrain and weather conditions.

Dien Bien identifies problems where UAVs can be applied including transporting agricultural products, production materials, medical logistics and essential goods, surveying and digital mapping, managing natural resources, forests, land, natural disaster prevention and search and rescue.

Since the sandbox was deployed, Dien Bien began to attract the attention of businesses. A business proposed that the province research three projects including the UAV Flight Testing and Practice Center, the UAV Manufacturing Factory, and the UAV and Aerospace Technology Introduction and Training Center, with a total estimated capital of nearly 200 billion VND.

However, according to Mr. Ba Anh, the legal corridor and inter-sectoral coordination mechanism are still some of the difficulties in implementation. Complex terrain, weather, and limited infrastructure and human resources also pose unique requirements for this type of special service.

The UAV controlled testing program in Dien Bien will last until the end of May 2027, with the goal of conducting about 6,000 flights.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuat, Deputy Director of Digital Economy and Digital Society – Ministry of Science and Technology, said the sandbox mechanism will promote “technology mastery”. UAVs do not directly create value, but the value lies in the flight, the data collected and the ability to exploit that data to solve real problems.

From an operational perspective, according to Vietnam Post General Director Chu Quang Hao, the company’s experience in providing delivery services in mountainous areas using UAVs in Dien Bien will be researched to expand to other localities.