The Federal Aviation Administration is testing the viability of having drones operate in civilian airspace. So is the European Union. Drone delivery services are being developed in the Gulf, in Africa, and of course famously by Amazon.com in North America.

It was all but inevitable that Israel, a global leader in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), would get in the civilian drone game. The country’s thriving start-up scene functions as a technology incubator, up to and including in the medical and biosciences.

Put all of those ingredients in the pot, stir a little, and out comes AirMule: the new ambulance drone being tested by Israeli startup Urban Aeronautics:

AirMule, an unmanned flying ambulance capable of vertical takeoff and landing in extremely close quarters, has been in development for a few years… in 2008, it was easy to dismiss those futuristic, colorful pods out of hand. But last month, Urban Aeronautics announced that AirMule had successfully completed a series of fully automatic test flights. The current incarnation of AirMule is drab and car-shaped, with enclosed rotors that keep the hovercraft aloft. These recent test flights revealed that AirMule is significantly quieter – and stealthier – than a helicopter, and capable of landing in tight spaces with ease.

Footage of test flights is embedded at the bottom.

The AirMule was originally designed for extracting wounded soldiers from combat situations, but – given small footprint, vertical takeoff capability, and ability to hover – it is already being talked about in civilian contexts. The drone’s specifications are also raising eyebrows in the context of disaster relief, where accessing isolated populations and civilians is at a premium.

[Photo: UrbanAero / YouTube ]