Share this article:

Detroit, MI — September 15, 2025 — Aerialoop has deployed a new urban drone logistics pilot developed by Newlab in collaboration with Michigan Central, Airspace Link, Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, and the Michigan Department of Transportation. The pilot marks another major milestone for Michigan Central’s Advanced Aerial Innovation Region (AAIR) and will demonstrate the commercial and logistical potential of middle-mile drone operations in a real-world urban setting.

Using AAIR’s shared infrastructure—including the rooftop launch pad at Newlab and the digital infrastructure provided by Airspace Link—Aerialoop operates a 1-mile round-trip drone route between Newlab at Michigan Central and The 23rd, a repurposed industrial site nearby that houses flexible production for emerging hardware companies. With clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the drone route files beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) from the roof of Newlab, above the adjacent railroad corridor. The Aerialoop drone transports lightweight small batch prototype parts which are manufactured at Newlab to support local assembly operations.

Aerialoop—a drone logistics company that has completed more than 40,000 cargo delivery flights globally—was attracted to Newlab at Michigan Central in Detroit and secured funding through Michigan’s Advanced Aerial Mobility Activation Fund that laid the foundation for the pilot. As a Newlab member, Aerialoop has received support with prototyping and aligning pilot requirements to Detroit’s mobility ecosystem, enabling the company to focus on drone operations, route logistics, and flight management. To date, Aerialoop has successfully completed more than 600 flights at Michigan Central carrying cargo between properties. In total, Aerialoop has traversed more than 360 miles—a distance that’s almost equivalent to flying nonstop from Detroit to Baltimore—without adding additional traffic and emissions to the neighboring community. The cargo delivery via drone has proved to be 5X more energy efficient than if transported by vehicle through the streets of the Corktown neighborhood.

“For Aerialoop, this pilot project has been an invaluable opportunity to demonstrate and integrate our technology into commercial airspace. Our highly capable and redundant drone system, combined with proprietary software, has been central to ensuring both the success and safety of operations,” said Jose Barzallo, Director of Operations at Aerialoop. “Highlighting not only the reliability of our platform but also its ability to operate at scale with high frequency operations. Equally important has been the seamless integration into the ecosystem created by our partners, which has made the path to flight faster and smoother. By leveraging the technology and systems within the Advanced Aerial Innovation Region, we have been able to operate to the highest safety standards.”

To ensure safety and coordination of flights, Airspace Link—a Detroit-founded FAA-approved UAS service supplier—provides the critical digital infrastructure that enables safe and compliant drone operations throughout the pilot. The company’s cloud-based AirHub® Portal platform serves as the command operations center for the drone deliveries, managing airspace coordination, flight planning, and regulatory compliance. By integrating with Michigan Central’s AAIR infrastructure, Airspace Link’s technology accelerates the FAA approval process and ensures that all flights follow established safety protocols while navigating Detroit’s urban environment. This partnership demonstrates how specialized digital infrastructure is essential for scaling drone logistics in complex urban settings.

“This pilot demonstrates the critical importance of robust digital infrastructure in enabling safe BVLOS operations in complex urban environments like Detroit,” said Michael Healander, CEO of Airspace Link. “Our AirHub® Portal platform provides the essential airspace awareness and drone operations management capabilities that allow multiple organizations to operate safely and compliantly in shared airspace. By integrating our B4UFLY safety checks and real-time situational awareness tools with Michigan Central’s AAIR infrastructure, we’re not just supporting this specific pilot—we’re proving that Detroit can serve as a model for how cities nationwide can embrace advanced aerial mobility while maintaining the highest safety standards.”

This pilot is the latest development within AAIR, an urban air testbed headquartered at Michigan Central, which supports projects that advance the state’s innovation economy while delivering real public and commercial value. The effort also represents a scalable, collaborative model for drone-based logistics—bringing together technology operators, manufacturers, site owners, and regulators to reduce friction in deploying advanced delivery systems.

“This pilot represents exactly what AAIR was built to enable—real-world application  of emerging aerial technology that solves practical, urban challenges,” said Matthew Whitaker, Director of Mobility Innovation Platforms at Michigan Central. “By harnessing the combined expertise, resources, and collaboration of the AAIR consortium, we’re demonstrating how industry, government, and innovators can work together to accelerate the future of aerial mobility.”

“Aerieloop has demonstrated impressive, scaled flight operations in South America but struggled to find the regulatory and startup environment in the U.S. to land their U.S. headquarters,” said Garrett Winther, Chief Product Officer at Newlab. “Michigan’s combination of first-of-a-kind infrastructure of AAIR, an aligned startup ecosystem at Newlab, and the region’s industrial concentration has given them a fast-track to piloting and scaling in the U.S.”

AAIR’s infrastructure and governance model set it apart from other drone testbeds by integrating the full spectrum of partners needed to move drone technology from concept to city-scale deployment. Newlab plays a central role in this ecosystem—designing the program framework, identifying, and onboarding startups like Aerialoop and Airspace Link, helping them test, refine, and scale pilot opportunities. Michigan Central’s shared-use facilities—including an Operations Center, the Launchpad at Newlab, and Scaled Launch Facility—are supported by Airspace Link’s digital airspace management tools. Additionally, AAIR recently launched a drone building inspection pilot with Lamarr.AI – A Vision Beyond What is Visible and the City of Detroit to identify opportunities for improved municipal building operations and energy efficiency.

For more information about AAIR and Michigan Central’s role in building Detroit’s aerial mobility ecosystem, visit Michigan Central .

About Michigan Central
Michigan Central is a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit, where leaders, thinkers, communities, and creators come together to accelerate bold ideas and technologies that shape our collective future. By providing access to world-class infrastructure, tools, and resources, Michigan Central inspires innovators and community members to collaborate on real, ground-breaking solutions to global problems. Since opening in April 2023, Michigan Central has grown into a diverse ecosystem of nearly 250 companies and startups working at the intersection of mobility, technology, and society. Learn more at Michigan Central .

About Newlab
Newlab is a venture platform for critical technology startups transforming core industrial sectors. We help startups commercialize faster by aligning Infrastructure, Commercialization Projects, and Capital in locations with strategic advantages. Newlab operates 3 innovation hubs globally and manages active pilot programming in additional regions. To date, Newlab has partnered with over 50 industry and government leaders and has supported its 400+ member companies in raising over $5.8B from venture capital firms, with over $2.3B of successful exits and a collective valuation of over $20B. Visit www.newlab.com to learn more.

About Aerialoop

Founded in 2018, Aerialoop is building the world’s first urban drone network to transform how cities move goods. With operations across multiple countries, Aerialoop is pioneering high-frequency, reliable, and sustainable air logistics that seamlessly integrate into daily urban life. Our Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) model empowers third-party operators to access advanced drone technology, while our city-scale networks demonstrate the future of instant, zero-emission delivery. To date, Aerialoop has completed thousands of commercial flights, enabling critical deliveries in healthcare, e-commerce, and logistics, and is expanding into the U.S. with projects in Michigan, Texas, and New York. Aerialoop is backed by global investors and industry partners, and is setting the foundation for a scalable aerial logistics infrastructure that redefines access and connectivity. Visit Home | Aerialoop | Drone Services to learn more.

About Airspace Link
Founded in Detroit in 2018, Airspace Link is at the forefront of enabling safe drone integration into national airspace and communities. As a SOC 2 compliant, ISO 27001-certified, FAA-approved UAS Service Supplier, Airspace Link’s cloud-based AirHub® Portal platform serves as the operations center for comprehensive drone management, providing essential digital infrastructure to support the growing drone industry. Airspace Link delivers drone integration support and services to state and local governments, federal organizations and military installations, corporate drone teams, and more than 100,000 individual recreational pilots. For more information about Airspace Link and our AirHub® Portal drone operations management system, visit Airspace Link


Download

Download

Download

Download

Download