Cloudline
Cloudline, a Cape Town company founded in 2017, builds and operates autonomous long-range aircraft that carry humanitarian and commercial cargo in sub-Saharan Africa.
With 35 staff and 16.3 million US dollars raised, it has delivered medical supplies, vaccines and relief goods for the World Food Programme in Mozambique and UNICEF in Namibia. It describes machine learning for navigation and computer vision for landing; its records describe the aircraft both as fixed-wing and as an airship.
No verified deployments yet
Cloudline is profiled in the companies register, but no deployment has been verified against published evidence. Records are added as evidence is reviewed and graded.
Products & Solutions
2 productsCloudline Airship
Autonomous long-range cargo airship delivering medical supplies, vaccines, and relief goods to remote communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Millions of people in remote sub-Saharan African communities lack reliable access to time-critical medical supplies, vaccines, blood products, essential medicines, because road infrastructure is poor, seasonal flooding cuts off routes, and chartered light aircraft are prohibitively expensive per delivery. Conventional fixed-wing aircraft require runway infrastructure that does not exist at most remote delivery sites. The Cloudline Airship solves this by operating as a long-range, runway-independent autonomous cargo aircraft capable of delivering 40 kg payloads to communities that are otherwise unreachable within clinically meaningful timeframes.
- 40 kg payload capacity optimised for medical supplies, vaccines, blood products, and relief goods
- 400 km operational range enabling delivery to remote communities beyond road and rotary-wing reach
- 12-hour endurance supporting extended missions and multi-stop delivery routes
- VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) capability eliminating the need for runway infrastructure at delivery sites
5 more features
- Solar-assisted propulsion reducing fuel consumption and extending operational range
- ML-based autonomous flight control handling navigation, obstacle avoidance, and route optimisation on-board
- Computer vision for precision landing-zone identification and automated approach at unimproved sites
- Cold-chain payload compatibility for vaccine and blood product transport
- Operationally deployed for World Food Programme (Mozambique) and UNICEF (Namibia)
Technical specifications (9)
- Payload capacity: 40 kg
- Range: 400 km
- Endurance: 12 hours
- Take-off / landing: VTOL, no runway required
- Propulsion: hybrid electric with solar panel augmentation
- Autonomy: full autonomous flight; ground crew manage mission upload and payload handling
- Navigation: GPS-primary with ML-based terrain and obstacle avoidance
- Landing precision: computer vision-guided approach targeting unimproved delivery zones
- Regulatory status: operational approvals in Mozambique and Namibia; regulatory engagement active in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire
Cloudline Logistics Network
Mission planning and fleet operations management platform for Cloudline airship deployments with real-time tracking and delivery reporting.
Humanitarian agencies and commercial health supply chains in infrastructure-poor regions lack end-to-end visibility and coordination tools suited to drone-based last-mile delivery. Mission planning, airspace coordination, real-time tracking, and delivery confirmation are typically handled through manual processes and general-purpose software not designed for UAV operations in remote areas. The Cloudline Logistics Network provides the operational backbone that transforms individual drone flights into a managed, scalable supply chain service, enabling logistics coordinators to plan, dispatch, track, and report on deliveries from a single platform.
- Pre-flight mission planning tools optimised for remote and rural delivery route design
- Airspace coordination workflows to support regulatory compliance in BVLOS operating environments
- Real-time flight tracking with live aircraft position visible to logistics coordinators
- Post-delivery reporting and proof-of-delivery documentation for humanitarian accountability requirements
6 more features
- Robotics-enabled ground handling workflow integration for payload loading and UAV servicing at remote sites
- Medical supply delivery scheduling aligned to cold-chain and expiry requirements
- Emergency communications support enabling rapid deployment for disaster relief missions
- Just-in-time cargo coordination reducing overstocking and wastage at remote health facilities
- Regulatory engagement documentation supporting market entry in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire
- Operational deployments: WFP Mozambique, UNICEF Namibia
Technical specifications (5)
- Interface: web-based operations dashboard accessible by humanitarian logistics coordinators in-field
- Tracking: real-time GPS telemetry streamed from Cloudline Airship fleet
- Reporting: structured delivery reports exportable for UN and NGO accountability frameworks
- Ground handling: robotics-assisted payload loading procedures documented for training at remote sites
- Connectivity: designed to operate over low-bandwidth satellite and cellular data links in remote areas
Register notes
Notes held in the Aerostack register. Aerostack has not independently verified them.
Sub-Saharan Africa presents a large addressable market for autonomous cargo delivery given the density of remote communities with poor road infrastructure and high demand for time-critical medical and humanitarian supplies.
Read the rest
Cloudline's confirmed humanitarian customers include the World Food Programme (Mozambique) and UNICEF (Namibia); employees_last_verified: 2026-05-19.
The global humanitarian drone logistics sector is growing as multilateral agencies shift from pilot programmes to operational contracts.
Cloudline's business impact is measurable: last-mile logistics time for life-saving medical supplies has been reduced from days to hours in remote areas, per-unit delivery costs are lower than chartered light aircraft, and cold-chain-compliant transport of vaccines and blood products has been demonstrated in operational deployments.
The $16.3 million total funding supports fleet expansion and regulatory certification across additional African markets.
Profile data from the Aerostack companies register; deployment records from the verified register. Evidence grades: T1 first-party confirmation, T2 credible reporting. See Our approach for how records are graded.