The RACN (Robotic Air Cargo Network) is a complete air transport eco system consisting of electric airplanes, airlines, airfields, airways, air traffic management systems, and battery fuel companies. The goal is “middle-mile” transport between towns in a few hours if not minutes, providing same day (rather than the current overnight) delivery to impatient online shoppers in conjunction with courier companies who do the “first-mile” pick up, and “last-mile” drop off.

In addition to the courier middle-mile transport use case, the RACN can become the enabler for fresh food exports from Mattala airport to the Eastern Hemisphere. The 3.6 billion people living in 142 countries, excluding India and China, will receive fresh food from Sri Lanka on the same day it is harvested. The RACN can transport those fresh goods in a few minutes or a few hours to Mattala without the need to use or build, extremely costly, slow, and polluting road transport networks.

Since the RACN has to be certified to international standards for global sales, it requires about $300 million and 4 years to design, concept demonstrate, test, and certify. The benefit to Sri Lanka’s economy is staggering. An estimated $12 billion in taxes, $1 trillion in high tech exports, and $400 million in GNP, equivalent to a GNI average of about $1,100 per capita from year 5-20. The RACN project will create tens of thousands of high paying manufacturing jobs locally in addition to the hundreds of high paying engineering jobs.