Israel has begun testing flying drone taxis that will carry passengers and cargo in a bid to ease traffic in what is one of the most densely-populated countries in the world.
The Times of Israel reported Monday:
Israel has started test flights of autonomous aircraft that can carry passengers and heavy cargo as the country prepares its national airspace for air taxi transportation and multiple drone delivery services.
The first air taxi test flights conducted in recent days are part of a NIS 60 million [USD $16 million] two-year government-led pilot project, also known as the Israel National Drone Initiative (INDI), which was originally established in 2019, to create a national drone network and prepare the sky for drone deliveries across Israel, together with regulators and private companies.
The overall aim of the project is to fly passengers and heavy cargo from one place to another and improve traffic congestion on Israel’s busy roads by using drones, as well as provide commercial and public services more efficiently.
Israel has long been a pioneer in drone technology, not just for military uses but also for civilian purposes. It also applies high-tech solutions to a variety of other problems, from border security to water desalination.
In the U.S., testing has involved package delivery by drone, but aerial passenger taxis — manned or unmanned — are far from being adopted. Urban congestion in Israel has contributed to the urgency of the effort.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.