Pyka, maker of the Pelican Spray autonomous electric aircraft for crop spray and cargo transport, has announced the recent signing of a letter of intent (LOI) for trials and subsequent operating lease agreement with Grupo HAME, one of the top three fresh fruit producers in Guatemala.

This agreement secures yet another major customer for Pyka’s Pelican Spray aircraft – manifesting the California-based company’s position as the industry leader in large-scale autonomous electric aviation technology for agriculture and building on its successful entry into Latin American aerial application operations.

Successful trial programme

After successfully completing a trial programme, including performance and efficacy testing, Grupo HAME intends to expand operations with multiple Pelican Spray aircraft across all of its banana production areas.

Pelican Spray aircraft

“We are confident that by using Pelican Spray on their fresh fruit crops, Grupo HAME will increase the cost-efficiency of their operation while contributing to their goal of harnessing forward-thinking technology to maximize the environmental sustainability of their business,” said Volker Fabian, Chief Commercial Officer at Pyka.

“We are thrilled to add Grupo HAME to our roster of industry-leading agricultural customers while expanding our presence in the growing Latin American market.”

Innovative agricultural technologies

“Our LOI with Pyka reflects Grupo HAME’s commitment to embracing the most innovative agricultural technologies on the market, ensuring that our business is on the cutting edge of operational efficiency and environmental sustainability,” said Enrique Pallais, Head of Banana Development at Grupo HAME.

To date, Pyka has secured regulatory approvals for flight operations in five separate countries, including for experimental operations in the U.S. and night operations in Costa Rica. Pelican Spray’s fully autonomous flight control platform has proven to maximize spray precision and is designed to reduce chemical usage by up to 15% and to significantly lower operating costs for customers.
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