According to FPT UAV CEO Vu Anh Tu, combining NARMA’s real-world experience, FPT’s strengths in AI, and the collective capabilities of the Vietnam Low Altitude Economy Partnership (LAEP) will help strengthen the industry as a whole, enabling Vietnam to gradually build greater autonomy in its domestic UAV market and expand globally.
In August, FPT and NARMA, a South Korean technology company known for its innovations in vertical take-off and landing drone platforms, signed a partnership agreement to research, develop, and commercialize the AF100, an electric UAV featuring two tilting rotor assemblies. Beyond developing a specific product, the partnership also seeks to connect Vietnam’s technology capabilities and domestic supply chain with international partners.
Mr. Vu Anh Tu, CEO of FPT UAV, FPT Corporation, shared his views on the outlook for Vietnam’s UAV sector and FPT’s strategy for participating in this emerging market.
Mr. Vu Anh Tu, CEO of FPT UAV, FPT Corporation.Three Core Capabilities for Participating in the UAV Supply Chain
– From FPT’s perspective, what conditions and opportunities does Vietnam currently have to develop its UAV industry and gradually establish a domestic supply chain?
– Vietnam is facing an opportunity to participate more deeply in the global UAV and drone value chain. This opportunity is being shaped by three key factors.
Policy frameworks such as Resolution No. 57, Resolution No. 68, and Decision No. 1131 have identified UAVs as one of Vietnam’s national strategic technologies. This creates a foundation for companies operating in the sector to pursue further research and development opportunities.
At the same time, South Korea is currently one of the largest investors in Vietnam, with total investment exceeding USD 95 billion. Similar to how Samsung and LG have helped foster supporting electronics industries, partnerships with technology companies such as NARMA could pave the way for core technology transfer and the development of a UAV supply chain in Vietnam.
FPT is not pursuing the UAV sector alone. In the past, many Vietnamese companies operated independently. While they may have had their own products or markets, not every company was capable of covering the entire value chain on its own. FPT therefore established the Low Altitude Economy Partnership (LAEP), bringing together businesses, research institutes, and universities to conduct research and address challenges related to UAVs and the low-altitude economy, with the goal of building a comprehensive ecosystem.
On August 10, FPT and South Korean technology company NARMA signed an agreement to research, develop, and commercialize the AF100. It is the world’s first electric UAV to feature two tilting rotor assemblies. This design allows the aircraft to take off and land vertically without a runway before transitioning into high-speed cruise flight, making it suitable for missions requiring speed and flexibility, such as cargo transportation, emergency response, patrol, and surveillance.
The FPT–NARMA partnership therefore creates value not only for FPT but also for the broader LAEP ecosystem. As the UAV sector develops, related industries will also have opportunities to grow, including manufacturers of core drone components.
Representatives of FPT and NARMA sign the partnership agreement.– You mentioned FPT’s efforts to build an ecosystem through the Low Altitude Economy Partnership (LAEP), as well as its cooperation with international partners such as NARMA. What opportunities could the NARMA partnership create for Vietnamese companies to move deeper into the UAV value chain rather than primarily supplying components or support services?
– Partnering with NARMA, which possesses core Tilt-Rotor eVTOL technology, is key to opening opportunities for Vietnamese companies to participate more deeply in the UAV value chain.
The first opportunity is to strengthen technology ownership through a co-design model. Instead of simply outsourcing manufacturing or producing individual supporting components, Vietnamese companies within LAEP can participate directly in the integration process. In this partnership, for example, FPT will integrate embedded AI directly into the AF100’s eVTOL platform, enabling autonomous flight as well as Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) capabilities.
The second opportunity is to build greater autonomy in the research and development of specialized products. By learning from NARMA’s experience in complex electromechanical technologies, Vietnamese companies can move beyond assembly and gradually develop the ability to design and optimize UAVs for Vietnam’s terrain, weather conditions, and specific security and economic requirements.
Vietnamese companies will also have opportunities to participate directly in international supply chains. NARMA already has an established market presence and has met stringent aviation-related certification requirements in the United States and Europe, including FAA and FCC standards. Meeting the technical requirements of this joint project could help Vietnamese companies gradually enter global export supply chains as strategic partners.
– To turn these opportunities into reality, what capabilities do Vietnamese companies need to develop to participate in the UAV supply chain?
– Vietnamese companies need to focus on developing three core groups of capabilities.
First is precision engineering and advanced materials. Companies need the ability to manufacture hardware components, molded structures, and propellers that meet stringent aerodynamic and aviation safety requirements.
Second is software and AI integration. Companies need to strengthen their capabilities in embedded programming and processing data from sensors such as LiDAR, GIS, and thermal cameras, while integrating autonomous control algorithms, including Autopilot and Detect-and-Avoid (DAA).
Third is the ability to comply with international standards while maintaining an open, collaborative mindset. Companies need to meet technical safety and airspace security requirements and certifications, while remaining willing to collaborate and combine their strengths with other partners across the value chain.
FPT believes that the combination of NARMA’s real-world experience, FPT’s AI capabilities, and LAEP’s collective strengths will help enhance the capabilities of the entire industry, enabling Vietnam to gradually build greater autonomy in its domestic market and expand globally.
Members of the Vietnam Low Altitude Economy Partnership at the Vietnam International Low Altitude Economy Forum 2025.AF100 Development Roadmap in Vietnam
– Moving from capability building for Vietnamese businesses to the AF100 itself, could you elaborate on the joint R&D project for this electric tilt-rotor UAV? Following the signing ceremony, what stages will FPT and NARMA pursue in developing the AF100? Over the next 12–18 months, which technologies or capabilities will the two sides prioritize?
– In the initial phase, FPT and NARMA will focus on completing an AI-integrated Mission Computer (MC), with particular emphasis on Detect-and-Avoid capabilities and autonomous flight software. These technologies will enhance the safety and autonomy of NARMA’s drone platforms.
The Mission Computer is essentially the “central brain” of a drone, integrating AI algorithms and computer vision technologies to automatically identify, detect, and avoid obstacles, process sensor data, and calculate optimal flight paths.
Over the longer term, FPT and NARMA plan to cooperate on hardware development in Vietnam. Through FPT’s network of Vietnamese partners, including LAEP members, R&D facilities, and supporting manufacturers, the two sides will survey and evaluate local capabilities and gradually transfer manufacturing and assembly processes for selected hardware components of NARMA’s drone platforms, beginning with the AF100, to Vietnam.
The goal is to progressively gain greater control over the supply chain, optimize costs, and strengthen technological autonomy for the domestic market.
The AF100 is the world’s first electric drone to feature two tilting rotor assemblies.– Within these areas, what specific responsibilities will FPT take on? What applications do the two sides expect to prioritize for the AF100 in Vietnam?
– FPT’s focus is to bring the “AI brain” to NARMA’s hardware platform. Specifically, FPT will develop autonomous flight software that enables the AF100 to take off and land automatically and independently calculate optimal flight routes. FPT will also integrate AI- and computer vision-based Detect-and-Avoid technology, enabling the UAV to identify and respond to risks in real time.
In parallel, FPT is researching AI-powered operational infrastructure, including Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) and automated data analytics systems, to further enhance drone safety and autonomy.
With speeds of up to 140 km/h and an unloaded flight range of 50 km, the AF100 can perform a wide variety of missions, including cargo transportation, emergency response, surveillance, and reconnaissance, even in difficult-to-access areas such as mountainous terrain, forests, suburban areas, and nature reserves. In Vietnam, the AF100 will initially focus on three major application groups: agriculture; surveillance and patrol; and logistics.
Agriculture represents a large and promising market for commercialization. Localities such as Dien Bien Province have already piloted low-altitude economy initiatives, creating favorable conditions for deployment. In mountainous areas of northern Vietnam and the Central Highlands, where large areas are devoted to industrial crops but difficult terrain can constrain farming operations, the AF100 could support activities ranging from terrain surveys and crop health monitoring using multispectral cameras to transporting agricultural supplies.
Specialized surveillance, patrol, and emergency logistics are also areas where the AF100 could be deployed relatively quickly. With around three-quarters of Vietnam’s terrain consisting of hills and mountains and the country having an extensive coastline, the AF100 could support missions such as power grid inspection, forest and nature reserve patrols, border protection, and the transportation of medical supplies and relief goods to areas isolated by natural disasters.
UAVs developed by FPT and Truong Thinh Drone are being tested for agricultural spraying at Ang Cang Lake, Manh Danh Village, Muong Ang Commune, Dien Bien Province. Photo: Xuan Tu– Bringing a product such as the AF100 from development to real-world deployment involves significant time and technical risks. From a product development perspective, which stages can FPT accelerate through its partnership with NARMA?
– The FPT–NARMA partnership allows both sides to significantly reduce trial-and-error time through a model in which each partner focuses on its specialized strengths: NARMA brings expertise in eVTOL hardware, while FPT focuses on AI and software development.
With NARMA’s Tilt-Rotor hardware platform already proven in real-world applications, FPT can move directly into the AI integration stage without spending significant time developing the mechanical engineering and aerodynamics from scratch. This accelerates AI integration for the AF100 while laying the groundwork for faster development of next-generation drone platforms such as the AF200 and AF400.
NARMA’s experience also helps FPT mitigate technical risks during development, including challenges related to AI data processing when drones operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Standardized hardware connectivity protocols also allow FPT to optimize embedded AI algorithms so that the aircraft can identify and avoid obstacles in real time.
Another area is certification and regulatory approval. NARMA’s hardware platform, which meets FAA and FCC requirements, provides a foundation for FPT’s integrated software to undergo stringent testing for durability, wind resistance, interference resistance, and aviation safety before real-world deployment.
Through this project, FPT aims to master the capability to integrate AI into Tilt-Rotor eVTOL platforms, which use tilting rotors for vertical take-off and landing. This technology is emerging as an alternative to conventional multicopter drones due to its advantages in speed and flight range.
FPT will deeply integrate AI algorithms, autonomous software, and Detect-and-Avoid capabilities into the sophisticated electromechanical control systems of these drone platforms, creating differentiated capabilities for a new generation of commercial UAVs.
The project will also strengthen FPT’s specialized AI capabilities for aviation. By combining computer vision with Edge AI, FPT aims to enable real-time analysis of multi-sensor data, including thermal cameras, LiDAR, and GIS, directly in flight. At the same time, FPT will further develop algorithms for autonomous take-off and landing on moving platforms, moving toward fully autonomous drone solutions.
UAVs have been identified as one of FPT’s strategic technology areas. Vietnam’s UAV sector is estimated to have the potential to reach USD 10 billion in scale and create one million jobs by 2035. In recent years, FPT has been working to advance Vietnam’s low-altitude economy by initiating and establishing the Low Altitude Economy Partnership, while also collaborating with international technology education organizations to develop high-quality talent for the UAV sector.