For the first time in the world drones have been used to transport animal vaccines and this feat has been achieved by the Hyderabad-based vaccine developer Indian Immunologicals Limited. Vaccines against the foot and mouth disease were moved through drones from Roing to Paglam in Arunachal Pradesh.
A total of 1,000 doses of Raksha Ovac vaccine against the FMD were delivered.
Launch of ‘Medicine From Sky’ has heralded a new dawn in Arunachal.
Today for the first time livestock vaccines were delivered by drone from Kangkong to Paglam in Lower Dibang Valley district.
The exercise was done with assistance of GoI and Techeagle Company.#RisingArunachal pic.twitter.com/4XXwDG5B40
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) November 14, 2022
To implement this, IIL collaborated with the State’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the drone service provider TechEagle.
The aerial distance between Roing and Paglam is 29 kilometres and the drone covered it in 20 minutes while the distance by road is 120 km and it takes 4 hours to complete. Thus, the indigenously developed hybrid drone – Vertiplane X3 – delivered the vaccine 12 times faster than ground transportation.
Soaring high, delivering service.
The drone takes off smoothly to ferry livestock vaccines in Lower Dibang Valley district.
Glimpse👇 pic.twitter.com/3KGhwWYx8n
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) November 14, 2022
The drone can fly at a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour for 100 km in single charge. While taking off vertically like a helicopter, it can convert automatically into fixed-wing mode for travelling larger distances with greater speed. It can be used to transport anything weighing up to 3 kg.
The drone mode of delivery of vaccines will enable access to remote difficult terrains faster and also provide critical vaccines on time for the protection of livestock from several diseases.
The event was inaugurated by Tage Taki, the State’s Minister of Agriculture.
