SkyDrive Secures 10 SD 05 eVTOLs for Taiwan

Japan’s electric air taxi race just added a Taiwanese runway.

SkyDrive Inc. has reached a general understanding with 7A Drones Co., Ltd. for the purchase of 10 SKYDRIVE Model SD 05 eVTOL aircraft, marking the company’s first Letter of Intent in the Asian market outside Japan, as Flightplan reports.

This is more than a handshake. It outlines pricing structure and delivery timelines, including one aircraft in 2028 and four more in 2029. The remaining five are scheduled for later delivery.

And the mission is not tourism. It is emergency medicine.

From Expo Flights to Real World Routes

SkyDrive has been positioning itself as a leader in short hop urban air mobility, famously conducting demonstration flights at Expo 2025 Osaka. Now the company is steering toward commercialization by 2028.

The SD 05 is designed as a compact eVTOL capable of integrating into existing transport networks. Think less sci fi spectacle, more aerial ambulance threading between islands.

Together, SkyDrive and 7A Drones have developed a proposed emergency medical evacuation route in the Penghu Islands.

The plan connects Magong City on the main island with Hujing Island, a smaller, more isolated community with roughly 860 residents and only a basic public clinic.

During rough winter weather, ferry services are frequently canceled. When a critically ill patient needs advanced care, time turns elastic in the worst possible way. Helicopters are an option, but expensive and not always available. The SD 05 is being positioned as a complementary layer in the transport stack, bridging gaps when the sea becomes a wall.

7A Drones Expands Into Advanced Air Mobility

Founded in 2018 and part of the I Mei Group, 7A Drones is already a heavyweight in Taiwan’s UAV ecosystem, with operations spanning agriculture, logistics, disaster response, and medical transport.

The company has secured Civil Aeronautics Administration type certification in Taiwan for multicopter UAVs over 25 kg and has also pursued special approvals for heavier logistics platforms.

Now it is stepping into the eVTOL arena.

CEO Hsin Sheng Hsu described the Letter of Intent as a starting point for deeper cooperation with Japanese partners in next generation air mobility. He emphasized the need for careful dialogue on technical, operational, and regulatory aspects before turning vision into routine flights.

SkyDrive CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa framed the agreement as a milestone in overseas expansion and a concrete step into the medical sector. The company is also working with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute to strengthen infrastructure and readiness ahead of its 2028 commercialization target.

Penghu Archipielago Is Crucial

The Penghu archipelago consists of around 90 islands scattered across the Taiwan Strait. Geography there is not just scenery. It is destiny.

When winter winds shut down ferries, access to healthcare tightens. A dedicated eVTOL medical corridor could dramatically reduce response times, especially for time sensitive emergencies such as strokes or trauma cases where minutes are oxygen.

If implemented, the Magong to Hujing route could become a proof of concept for island communities across Asia that face similar challenges. Short range electric aircraft may not replace helicopters entirely, but they could add a quieter, potentially lower cost option to the toolbox.

DroneXL’s Take

This deal is small in number but large in symbolism.

Ten aircraft will not transform Taiwan’s airspace overnight. But pairing eVTOL technology with a clearly defined medical use case gives SkyDrive something far more valuable than hype. It gives them purpose.

The Penghu route is practical, politically neutral, and socially resonant. That is smart strategy in a sector often dominated by glossy renders and vague urban taxi dreams.

If SkyDrive can move from Expo demo flights to reliable island medevac operations by 2028, it will prove that eVTOLs are not just airborne concept art. They will be tools, woven into daily life where roads and ferries fall short.

Photo credit: SkyDrive