Drones, Surveillance and Emergency Response: SUPAIR and the Future of Air Mobility
Developing advanced aerial mobility systems designed for cargo delivery, surveillance and rescue operations using autonomous or remotely piloted aircraft: this is the mission of SUPAIR, an innovative startup and spinoff of Politecnico di Torino. The company leverages the patented ThrustPodtechnology – an all-electric system that enables efficient, safe and quiet vertical take-off and landing for fixed-wing aircraft.
Introducing SUPAIR’s vision is CEO Angelo Lerro: “We were founded in November 2024 with the goal of bringing to market a technology patented by Politecnico in 2020. In 2022, the university received funding from Tech4Planet (Italy’s second National Technology Transfer Hub launched by CDP Venture Capital), to advance the technology to TRL 6 by developing a demonstrator. That funding led to the creation of SUPAIR, with Tech4Planet as a shareholder”.
SUPAIR was established not only to commercialise the technology, but to deliver a complete aerial system: the aircraft – currently a drone – and a control station capable of managing fleets of up to 20 units. The company’s technologies are scalable and can also be applied to aircraft for transporting passengers, such as air taxis. SUPAIR’s aircraft stand out for their performance: speeds of up to 300 km/h (with a cruising speed of 150 km/h), a range of up to 400 km, a payload capacity of up to 5 kg and a maximum altitude of 5,000 meters. Another distinctive feature is the system’s high tolerance to adverse weather conditions, which ensures greater precision during take-off, flight and landing, even in tight spaces.
To date, two main applications have been tested: surveillance of remote or marine areas, and the delivery of essential goods such as blood bags or medication. “We’re developing a turnkey, closed flight system, fully developed both in its hardware and software components – Lerro explains – and our target clients include governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as companies working in territorial monitoring and surveillance”.
Currently in the design phase, the aerial system is expected to be ready by summer 2026. SUPAIR is therefore seeking partners interested in the subsequent industrialisation and production stages. Two companies have already expressed interest, one for manufacturing the product and another for developing communication systems.
“The demonstrator aircraft validates the patented technology. We are now building a prototype within a project focused on monitoring strategic infrastructures and conducting reconnaissance in highly complex environments”, explains SUPAIR CTO Gioacchino Cafiero. He adds: “For delivery-related activities, we won the MOST Mobility Challenge 2025, funded by the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility under the PNRR, with a project dedicated to deliveries in remote areas”.
The goal now is to scale up toward a full-service model for delivering medication and other critical hospital supplies.
