What Wings For Aid does

Wings For Aid is a Dutch charitable foundation (Stichting Wings For Aid Foundation, ANBI status) founded on 2 December 2015 by Barry Koperberg and headquartered in Hilversum, Netherlands. It develops and operates an RPAS-based cargo drone delivery system designed to bridge the "last mile" in humanitarian aid logistics, delivering food, water, medicines, and other life-saving commodities to communities isolated by natural disasters or man-made crises where road infrastructure has been destroyed or is inaccessible.

The core technology consists of two patented components: the MiniFreighter 8/500FW, a fixed-wing remotely piloted aircraft capable of carrying and dropping eight 20-kg self-landing cardboard boxes within a 250-km radius, and the self-landing cardboard delivery box itself, which absorbs impact without a parachute and is manufactured from biodegradable material in partnership with Smurfit Kappa. Aircraft are operated in squads of 2-5, enabling distribution of tons of cargo per day. Supporting partners include Pipistrel (aircraft manufacturing), VanBerlo/Accenture (design and IT), DLR and NLR (aerospace research, testing, and pilot training), To70 (aviation consultancy and SORA), and the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Army (test facilities). Operational aircraft and intellectual property are licensed to Cargo Internet Development B.V., the commercial operating arm in which Rhenus Air & Ocean holds a strategic equity holding.

Wings For Aid functions as a mission-first coalition that depends primarily on partnerships rather than internal headcount (~11 staff). Revenue is sourced from donations and grants under its ANBI charitable designation, with no publicly disclosed pricing or revenue figures. The organisation has executed missions in the Dominican Republic (2022, with DLR), South Africa (2023, with DLR), Curaçao, and Madagascar (2024, with the UN World Food Programme), and has received recognition including the TIACA Air Cargo Sustainability Award (2019) and multiple iF Design Awards (2021, 2024).

Name

Wings For Aid

Legal name

Stichting Wings For Aid Foundation

Website

https://wingsforaid.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wings For Aid is a Dutch ANBI-registered foundation that builds and operates a patented RPAS cargo drone system, including the MiniFreighter aircraft and self-landing cardboard boxes, to deliver humanitarian aid to communities isolated by disasters and crises worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Drone Logistics

NAICS

Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation (481212)

SIC

Air Courier Services (4513)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian, Relief & Government Cargo Airlift (THABAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Humanitarian / Relief Airlift Operators (TLADAAAM)

Keywords

• Humanitarian drone delivery
• Cargo drone logistics
• Last mile delivery
• Aerial aid supply
• Self-landing delivery box

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilversum

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Charitable/Humanitarian Services: As an ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) charitable organization in the Netherlands, profits from income are re-invested in the statutory purpose: 'Promoting reaching people in need using innovative transport concepts'. The organization develops and delivers a scalable and reliable delivery system based on cargo-drone technology.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Wings For Aid develops and operates an RPAS-based humanitarian cargo delivery system consisting of the MiniFreighter 8/500FW fixed-wing aircraft and patented self-landing cardboard delivery boxes. The system delivers up to 20 kg per box across a 250 km radius, with squads of 2-5 aircraft capable of distributing tons of life-saving commodities per day to communities cut off by natural disasters and man-made crises.

Product overview

Wings For Aid offers a mission-first humanitarian cargo drone delivery system consisting of three core components: the MiniFreighter 8/500FW fixed-wing aircraft that carries and drops eight self-landing 20-kg cardboard boxes over a 250 km radius; the patented self-landing cardboard delivery boxes made of biodegradable material that land upright from 50-500 metres without parachutes; and the integrated RPAS-Based Delivery System that operates in squads of 2-5 aircraft capable of distributing tons of cargo daily to reach people in need during natural disasters and crises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MiniFreighter 8/500FW A remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) designed for humanitarian cargo delivery, capable of transporting and dropping eight self-landing boxes over a 250 km radius. The fixed-wing aircraft is operated in squads of 2-5 units to distribute tons of food, blankets, medicines and other life-saving commodities per day.
• Self-Landing Cardboard Delivery Box A patented biodegradable cardboard delivery box designed to land upright when dropped from 50-500 metres, absorbing landing impact without a parachute. Each box carries a 20 kg payload and 70 liters of volume, mass-produced like ordinary cardboard packaging.
• RPAS-Based Humanitarian Delivery System An integrated RPAS-based delivery system combining the MiniFreighter 8/500FW aircraft with patented self-landing cardboard boxes, operated in squads of 2-5 aircraft to distribute tons of cargo per day for humanitarian relief and emergency operations worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250 km operational range
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Rhenus Air & Ocean / Rhenus LogisticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2019Rhenus Logistics is Wings For Aid's logistics services partner enabling integrated logistics solutions worldwide. Rhenus Air & Ocean holds a strategic share in Cargo Internet Development B.V., the operational twin of the Wings For Aid Foundation. Marcel van Duyn serves as Supervisor Cargo Office at Rhenus Logistics.
• VanBerlo / AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic design and innovation agency VanBerlo, part of Accenture, supports Wings For Aid in designing and developing the aircraft and IT system. VanBerlo joins partners to build bridges between human needs, technological opportunities, and sustainable business. Eric van Dorst serves as CTO.
• Smurfit KappacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld leading paper-based packaging manufacturer that made a significant contribution to the development and implementation of the self-landing cargo boxes. First production batch manufactured at Olen factory in Belgium. Frank Sinnige serves as Customer Experience & Innovation Director.
• PipistrelcoreTechnology or IntegrationSlovenian aircraft innovation powerhouse and designer of the world's first certified electric aircraft. Design & manufacturing partner for OPV aircraft and the first-ever MiniFreighter. Pipistrel is part of Textron. Tine Tomazic serves as CTO.
• Amazilia AerospacesupportingTechnology or IntegrationBased in Munich, Germany, partner for the automation of aircraft systems. Christoph Dorhoefer serves as CEO.
• Fly SynthesissupportingTechnology or IntegrationLocated near Venice, Italy, laid the basis for the next five MiniFreighters. Now part of Wings & Boats. Massimo Meroi serves as Manager.
• Orange AerospacesupportingTechnology or IntegrationLocated near Breda, Netherlands, experienced in composites with legacy in aerobatic and special-mission aircraft. Involved in MiniFreighter 8/500FW and MiniFreighter 12/1000FW. John van Gastel serves as point of contact.
• Royal Netherlands Air ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong alliance based on shared interest in expertise and innovation. Together with Royal Dutch Army, practical knowledge is put to humanitarian use; assets such as airbases are used for controlled testing. Kol. B. (Bart) Hoeben serves as Head Multi Domain Warfare Education Centre.
• Royal Netherlands ArmysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared agenda with Wings For Aid on logistics. Army facilitates testing as part of its Concept Development and Experimentation program.
• TU DelftsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain inspiration from Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. Current contribution includes advising on design and operations of aircraft. Earlier contributions include design synthesis exercises with students. Ir. Joris Melkert serves as Director of Education.
• University of TwentesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHightech Business and Entrepreneurship Department supports with modelling, optimisation and analysis of logistics processes and drone operations. Developed generic simulation model for UAV-aided humanitarian logistics. Dr.Ir. Martijn Mes serves as Associate Professor.
• Eindhoven University of TechnologysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent teams have fine-tuned and tested parts of the carton delivery box. Mr. Mark Cox serves as point of contact for business development and collaboration.
• NLR - Royal Netherlands Aerospace CentresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with Wings For Aid, VanBerlo/Accenture and Royal Netherlands Air Force on documenting drone development and certification process. Contributed to establishing Wings For Aid operator organisation and trains drone pilots for remotely piloted operations in 25+ kg category. Barbara Ohlenforst serves as Head of vertical flight and drone centre.
• DLR - German Aerospace CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperates with Wings For Aid and UN World Food Programme to develop new assistance technologies for distributing humanitarian supplies using UAS. Tested DLR's unmanned superARTIS helicopter with Wings For Aid box in Dominican Republic with positive results. Also advisory partner for SORA methodology. Johann Dauer serves as Head of Department of Unmanned Aircraft.
• To70supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld-leading aviation consultancy partnered since 2017. Assists in development of ConOps, SORA, and other technical documents. Provides general consultancy services including advice on commercial agreements with operating partners. Adrian Young serves as Senior Aviation Consultant.
• Bureau VeritascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership signed at Paris Airshow. Bureau Veritas is a testing, inspection, and certification company.
• HENSOLDTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHENSOLDT enters into strategic collaboration with Wings For Aid. HENSOLDT is a German aerospace and defence company.
• UN World Food ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProud to see Wings For Aid and UN World Food Programme teams work together with local partners to deliver life-saving nutrition supplies in southeastern Madagascar. Wings For Aid participated in WFP innovation accelerator program in Munich.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wingcopter: Wingcopter is a German cargo drone manufacturer with tiltrotor eVTOL aircraft used for medical and humanitarian deliveries (e.g., Malawi, Ireland). Directly comparable to Wings For Aid in payload class (~20 kg), European base, and humanitarian/healthcare customer focus.
• Swoop Aero: Swoop Aero is an Australian drone logistics company focused on medical and humanitarian last-mile delivery across the Pacific, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Comparable to Wings For Aid in target customer (humanitarian NGOs, ministries of health), fixed-wing drone architecture, and emerging-market deployment model.
• Zipline: Zipline operates autonomous fixed-wing cargo drones for medical and humanitarian deliveries, primarily in Africa (Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria). It is the most direct competitor to Wings For Aid in the humanitarian last-mile drone delivery space, with comparable customers (governments, NGOs) and payload/range profile.
• Manna Aero: Manna Aero is an Irish drone delivery company using autonomous quadcopters for suburban food and medical deliveries. Directly comparable in the cargo drone delivery category and target customer orientation (community-impact logistics), though primarily commercial rather than humanitarian.
• Matternet: Matternet operates quadcopter cargo drones for hospital-to-laboratory and medical specimen deliveries in the US, Switzerland, and UAE. Comparable to Wings For Aid in fixed-route cargo drone operations for healthcare/humanitarian customers, though primarily urban/suburban rather than remote-area.

Emerging players

• Elroy Air: Elroy Air develops hybrid-electric VTOL cargo drones (Chaparral) for middle-mile logistics with payloads of 300–500 lb. Comparable as a cargo drone developer but with a much larger payload class and middle-mile rather than last-mile humanitarian orientation.
• Sabrewing Aircraft: Sabrewing Aircraft is developing the Rhaegal cargo VTOL with multi-ton payload capacity for humanitarian, military, and commercial airlift. Comparable to Wings For Aid in the humanitarian cargo aviation mission, but at significantly larger payload and fixed-wing/VTOL scale.
• Volansi: Volansi operates autonomous cargo drones (Voly C10, M20) for commercial and humanitarian logistics, with past contracts with the US Department of Defense and Africa-based deliveries. Comparable in cargo drone delivery category and humanitarian/military customer overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Wing (Alphabet): Wing is Alphabet's drone delivery subsidiary operating commercial small-payload deliveries (food, retail) in Australia, the US, and Finland. Comparable in cargo drone delivery technology but a broad incumbent with a very different (commercial suburban) focus compared to Wings For Aid's humanitarian niche.
• Amazon Prime Air: Amazon Prime Air is Amazon's drone delivery program for small consumer packages. Comparable as a cargo drone delivery operator but a broad incumbent with vastly larger scale, different payload class, and commercial retail orientation versus Wings For Aid's humanitarian focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wings-for-aid-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wings For Aid