THE cargo and passenger-carrying drone, which has been the object of ridicule on social media after it was mistaken as Putrajaya’s much-touted flying car, is not for sale, said its makers.

Aerodyne Group business development and consulting senior director Imtyaz Mohd Azzat said the vehicle, named “Vector”, would hopefully be used to provide transportation and surveillance services to a wide range of industries.

“We plan to sell the service, not the vehicle,” he told The Malaysian Insight at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019.

Aerodyne is an exhibitor at the Entrepreneur Development Ministry’s booth. A mini model of the Vector displayed at the booth was mistaken to be a model of the flying car earlier announced by Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof.

The flying car idea was largely criticised by the public and the opposition, leading to Vector gaining attention at Lima 2019.

Imtyaz said he and his colleagues have had to correct the misunderstanding, adding that Vector is an air mobility solution, powered by four motors and a lithium-ion battery.

The drone can carry up to 200kg and fly at a cruising speed of 60km per hour 50m above the ground. Its flight time is 30 to 90 minutes.

Imtyaz said Vector is still at the design and engineering stage, with its prototype expected to be ready at the end of this year.

But how quickly the vehicle will enter the market will depend on how quickly the government can introduce the legislations and regulations for unmanned flying vehicles.

“It will really depend on how quickly the regulations will be up.

“For the cargo module, we may be able to fly in a year or two. But flying passengers will take longer because of the regulations and safety concerns involved.

“We will need to have the ecosystem to be able to fly. Currently, the air traffic control system is for manned aircraft. Vector is unmanned, so we need a system for unmanned air traffic management,” he said.

Imtyaz said Vector Aerodyne does not plan to sell the vehicle just yet, although there has been a lot of interest from foreign visitors at Lima.

“For a start, we only plan to sell the service. Our cargo module can serve the oil and gas industry, transporting cargo to the oil rigs in the sea.

“The vehicle can also handle surveillance and border patrol, which law enforcement authorities do. So we hope to find clients in the industry and government sectors,” he said.

Asked how much it cost to develop Vector, Imtyaz said he could not reveal the figure, except that it was fully a private initiative.

The government was only supportive and open to the idea, he said.

“MED has been very helpful. It is helping point us to the right people to look into the regulations needed to get these vehicles in the air.”