Italy's first drone-based air medical rescue trial takes off: UrbanV and the ENAV Group partner with SIS 118

Rome, July 9, 2025 — A technical-operational partnership agreement has been signed between SIS 118, UrbanV, and D-Flight, a company of the ENAV Group, for the launch of SEUAM – Sanitary Emergency Urban Air Mobility, a pioneering project aimed at revolutionizing emergency medical rescue through the use of drones and Urban Air Mobility systems. The SEUAM experimental project, conceived and coordinated by Dr. Mario Balzanelli, National President of SIS 118, was created with the goal of drastically reducing the response times of the 118 Territorial Emergency System in cases of sudden cardiac arrest, hemorrhagic shock, anaphylactic shock, acute poisoning, or other medical emergencies involving imminent danger of death, thanks to next-generation drones capable of transporting, under the real-time coordination of the 118 Operations Centers, defibrillators, blood products, life-saving drugs, and medical devices directly to the scene of the emergency. "Reducing response times — even by a single minute — when a life is at stake means saving, with certainty, a great many human lives. With SEUAM, SIS 118 is testing innovative air-support solutions for the advanced resuscitation of critical patients, bringing medical rescue to the most challenging scenarios in the shortest possible time, thanks to innovative technology and excellent partners such as UrbanV and D-Flight," says Mario Balzanelli. UrbanV and D-Flight: strategic partners for the mobility of the future UrbanV will make available its expertise as a certified drone operator, in the design and management of drone-dedicated infrastructure, as well as advanced technological solutions for operational control and safety. D-Flight will provide technical support for the safe and efficient integration of drones into airspace, defining priority procedures to ensure precedence to drones used in emergency scenarios over other air traffic, manned or unmanned, present in the operations area, as well as support for the operational authorization process. "The ENAV Group, thanks to the strategic vision of our CEO Pasqualino Monti, has defined an industrial plan in which the drone sector is an essential pillar. D-Flight plays a key role as the technology partner of the SEUAM project, which represents a concrete step toward integrating drones into essential public services, particularly in the field of medical rescue, with a focus on innovation, safety, and resource optimization," says Maurizio Paggetti, CEO of D-Flight. The initiative, in an initial experimental phase (2025-2028), will involve flight tests in the municipalities participating in the project, including Altomonte (CS), Santa Lucia di Serino (AV), Massa di Somma (NA), Pizzo Calabro (VV), Laterza (TA), Rosciano (PE), and Trebisacce (CS). In these scenarios, the drones will be used to deliver life-saving supplies in record time, overcoming logistical obstacles and reducing dependence on traditional rescue vehicles. A replicable model for the future of healthcare The SEUAM project is part of the broader CDTE program – Cambiamento nella Tempo Dipendenza dell'Emergenza (Change in the Time-Dependence of Emergency), promoted by SIS 118, and aims to become a replicable reference model at the national and international level. "Through this trial, we intend to validate a new standard of rapid, capillary response, leveraging Innovative Air Services to support the 118 Territorial Emergency System," says Carlo Tursi, CEO of UrbanV. At the end of the trial, the results will be shared with the competent authorities to assess the integration of these innovative solutions into the emergency medical protocols of the future. "We see today, unfortunately, that drones bring death. It is time for them, here in Italy and around the world, to bring life," Balzanelli concludes.