This afternoon, Beijing time, JD Logistics’ drone completed its first overseas test flight. This is also the first time JD Logistics has used drones to transport goods overseas.What was put into use this time is an electric vertical fixed-wing UAV, which can realize vertical take-off and landing and automatically retract the rotor, which not only reduces flight resistance but also greatly increases the cargo range. The UAV can carry up to 10 kilograms of cargo.
According to JD.com, express delivery sites in Saudi Arabia are often far away from the city center and are also a long distance from the actual delivery location of consumers.
For example, the straight-line distance of this test flight route is 15 kilometers, but the ground traffic conditions are complex and changeable. Traditional vehicles need to make a large circle for express delivery, which generally takes more than an hour, but it only takes 15 minutes via JD Logistics drones.The goods can be transported from the express delivery site to the designated landing point, and then the JoyExpress courier will pick up the goods and deliver them to your door, achieving more efficient "human-machine collaboration".
The long driving distance of traditional vehicle transportation, coupled with the high temperature weather in the Middle East, is quite challenging for couriers. The use of JD Logistics drones to carry out the last-mile cargo transportation not only reduces the burden on couriers, but also greatly improves transportation efficiency.
After this test flight, JD Logistics will continue to promote the construction of drone overseas service capabilities, focusing on assisting JoyExpress's "last mile" delivery service and assisting couriers with door-to-door delivery.
In October this year, JD Logistics announced that it will purchase 3 million robots, 1 million unmanned vehicles and 100,000 drones in the next five years to fully engage in the full-link scenario of the logistics supply chain.