PRESS RELEASE: Airobotics is currently headquartered in Israel and has offices in Australia, as well as additional operations in Chile and New Caledonia. The Scottsdale office is intended to become the company's global headquarters as Airobotics continues to scale up. Mining company BHP is Airobotics' first customer in the US.

Ran Krauss, CEO and co-founder of Airobotics, said: "When deciding where to launch our first US office, Arizona was the top choice for us as it has a strong mining industry, great weather conditions for drone testing, and potential partners we're excited to work with.

The state and local governments are very supportive of autonomous and aviation technologies and the UAV industry specifically, aligning with our plans to operate UAVs Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) in the US.

"The drive for digitalisation is vital as companies look for ways to improve productivity and business, which can lead to higher profits that flow back to the state, as well as create new types of jobs related to aerial data, data analysis, development and remote operations. As we continue to grow our services in the mining industry, we're excited to have talented professionals in Arizona join our team and help us bring mines and other industrial sites into the digital data era."

Airobotics plans to grow the Scottsdale team to 80 employees by the end of 2019, focusing on recruiting local technology, operations and sales talent.

"We expect Airobotics to be a major player as the AZSkyTech Program continues to make great strides in deployment and usage of UAS," said Sandra Watson, president & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

According to Airobotics, its automated solution represents the next generation of drone operations. It was the first company worldwide to be granted authorisation to fly fully automated pilotless drones, certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel.