SkyDrive, an eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, has signed an MOU with Taiho, a total engineering company, and the companies have agreed on a pre-order of the SkyDrive SD-05 for commercial use. Taiho is a member of the newly established Public-Private Council for Advanced Air Mobility in Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku region.

SkyDrive is currently developing the SD-05 eVTOL aircraft to create a future where everyone has access to air mobility as their daily transportation. The company successfully completed its first flight test in Japan in 2019, and its SD-05 is in the process of acquiring its Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) certification.

Taiho sells and maintains control or measurement equipment and performs electrical, communications and civil engineering works for customers in various industries, including electric power, chemicals, oil refining, nuclear power generation and paper manufacturing. In recent years, the company has been actively investing in new fields such as robotics, including the in-house development of automated driving and monitoring robots for the livestock industry.

The Shikoku region, where Taiho is headquartered, faces transportation and regional revitalisation challenges. As a leading infrastructure provider in this area, Taiho believes that the electric and compact SD-05 can be a solution to these issues and has signed an MOU.

SkyDrive and Taiho are committed to bringing advanced air mobility to Shikoku. The two will work closely with all stakeholders, including flight operators, vertiports and power supply infrastructure providers to make this vision a reality.

The SD-05 is a two-seat, electric-powered compact aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Operated by a driver-pilot, its flight stability is secured with the assistance of a computer-controlled flight system. SkyDrive is in the process of acquiring a type certificate for SD-05 from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), as the first of its kind in Japan. SD-05 is designed to travel up to approximately 10 km and its maximum cruise speed is 100 km/h.