Brazilian developer Moya Aero discusses its progress towards a full-scale aircraft, expanding logistics applications and certification plans while exhibiting at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026.
Moya Aero saw the FIA26 as an opportunity to highlight a significant milestone in the development of its autonomous cargo aircraft, as the Brazilian company prepares to transition from a scaled demonstrator to flying its first full-scale prototype later this year.
Exhibiting within the Brazilian Aerospace & Defense Cluster at the Brazil Pavilion, Moya Aero joined fellow Brazilian aerospace companies to showcase the country’s growing aerospace industry while engaging with suppliers and potential partners from across the sector.
Speaking to Advanced Air Mobility International, CEO Alexandre Zaramela said the event provided an opportunity to present the company’s logistics platform while strengthening relationships throughout the aerospace supply chain.
Zaramela said, “We’re developing a high-capacity cargo drone for logistics. It’s an unmanned aircraft capable of taking off vertically and flying horizontally using an electric propulsion configuration. We came to the show to meet suppliers, see how the industry is evolving and showcase our platform.”
The company has already completed more than 150 flights with a 75% scale proof-of-concept aircraft and has now entered the next stage of development.
Zaramela explained, “We’ve started building the full-scale aircraft, and our plan is to fly it by the end of this year. We’ll then continue flight testing with the goal of achieving certification and entering service in 2027.”
Board Director & Strategic Advisor Andre Stein revealed that the company had also reached a major manufacturing milestone during the airshow, completing the upper wing skin for the full-scale aircraft.
Stein said, “It’s the first really big part we’ve produced. The aircraft has a wingspan of around seven and a half metres. When people think about drones, they often imagine something small, but this is an aircraft capable of carrying a 200kg payload.”
Moya Aero sees opportunities across a range of logistics markets, including industrial operations, medical transport and e-commerce distribution. Stein highlighted applications where rapid delivery of critical components can minimise operational downtime, as well as transporting medical supplies to remote communities more cost effectively than conventional helicopters.
The company also sees significant potential in agriculture, particularly in Brazil, where the regulatory framework has supported the early adoption of unmanned aircraft for agribusiness applications.
Stein added, “Brazil has a huge domestic market and a regulatory environment that has helped enable beyond visual line of sight operations. Agriculture became a natural first market, whether it’s transporting spare parts across large farms or supporting more precise crop spraying around environmentally sensitive areas.”
With full-scale manufacturing underway and flight testing scheduled to begin later this year, Moya Aero is entering one of the most significant phases of its development as it works towards commercial operations in 2027.
