Could drones replace harvesters on steep terrain? Swedish company AirForestry is testing whether thinning operations can be done from the air.
The forestry industry is no stranger to technological change. Mechanisation transformed harvesting during the twentieth century, while advances in GPS, remote sensing and automation have steadily improved efficiency in the decades since. Now a Swedish company is exploring whether the next major step could involve removing heavy machinery from the forest floor altogether.
Founded in 2020 in Uppsala, Sweden, AirForestry has developed a system that uses large autonomous electric drones to carry out thinning operations from the air. While the concept sounds futuristic, the company’s origins are rooted in practical forestry experience and a team whose backgrounds span forestry research, aviation technology, engineering and entrepreneurship.
At the centre of the story are four people: Dr Mauritz Andersson, Olle Gelin, Magnus Hedlund and Caroline Walerud.
A Forester and a Physicist
The idea for AirForestry emerged from a meeting between Olle Gelin and Dr Mauritz Andersson.
Olle grew up in a family with deep forestry connections and represents the sixth generation managing a farm and forest property outside Uppsala. His career included work on hybrid truck development at Scania before spending eight years at Sweden’s forestry research institute, Skogforsk, where he helped lead major automation projects. Through that work, he became increasingly convinced that incremental improvements to traditional forestry equipment would not be enough to address future environmental and productivity challenges.
Mauritz brought a very different perspective. A physicist with a background in quantum optics and industrial optical systems, he had long been interested in electric aviation, and the role technology could play in reducing environmental impacts. While forestry and aviation might seem like distant fields, Mauritz believed electric flight could eventually become one of the most energy-efficient forms of transportation.
Together, the pair arrived at a simple but radical question: what if thinning operations could be carried out from above rather than from the ground?
The concept would eliminate the need for heavy machinery travelling through forest stands and potentially remove some of the environmental impacts associated with conventional thinning operations. AirForestry was formally established in 2020, and development began almost immediately.
Engineering a New Approach
Turning the concept into reality required significant engineering expertise.
That responsibility largely fell to Magnus Hedlund, the company’s founding engineer and now chief technology officer. Magnus has overseen the development of a system that differs markedly from conventional forestry machinery.
Instead of a single machine, AirForestry’s approach relies on a fleet of autonomous drones working together. The company’s latest heavy-lift drones have a diameter of approximately 6.2 metres and are designed to carry specialised harvesting tools capable of delimbing, cutting and lifting small trees during thinning operations. The drones operate under the supervision of a ground control system while performing many tasks autonomously.
Development has progressed rapidly. The company completed its first full-scale drone flight in 2021, achieved its first complete tree harvest in 2024, and in 2026 reported an autonomous harvesting sequence in which the drone navigated to a tree, identified it, felled it and transported it without direct manual intervention [as seen in this month’s Forestry News – Ed].
While challenges remain before large-scale commercial deployment, the pace of technical development has attracted considerable attention from major Scandinavian forest owners and investors.
The Entrepreneur Behind the Growth
The fourth key figure is Caroline Walerud, a biologist, entrepreneur and investor who became involved shortly after the company’s formation.
Caroline joined AirForestry in 2020 through her family’s investment company and later became chair of the board. In late 2025 she assumed the role of chief executive officer as the company moved from early development towards commercial scale-up.
Her role has been less about designing drones and more about helping transform an ambitious engineering project into a functioning business. Under her leadership, AirForestry has secured funding, expanded its team and built relationships with some of Scandinavia’s largest forestry organisations.
Perhaps the strongest indication of industry interest came in 2026 when major Swedish forestry companies including SCA, Holmen, Stora Enso and Sveaskog joined a collaborative programme to test and evaluate the technology in operational environments.
What Could It Mean for New Zealand?
For New Zealand foresters, it remains to be seen if AirForestry’s technology replaces conventional harvesting systems any time soon. The country’s plantation forests are highly productive, and mechanised harvesting systems are already deeply embedded within operations.
However, there are specific areas where airborne thinning could prove relevant.
One potential application is steep terrain. New Zealand’s forestry sector operates extensively on hill country where access roads can be costly to construct and maintain. Traditional thinning operations on difficult slopes can also be expensive and present safety challenges.
Because AirForestry’s drones operate from the air, they have the potential to access areas without requiring the same level of ground infrastructure. This could make thinning in difficult terrain more practical, particularly in forests where conventional machinery access is limited.
Environmental considerations may also be significant. Heavy forestry machinery can contribute to soil compaction, rutting and disturbance, particularly in wet conditions. AirForestry’s approach removes vehicle traffic from the stand itself, potentially reducing impacts on soils and root systems.
New Zealand’s increasing focus on environmental performance, sediment management and protection of sensitive sites may create opportunities for technologies that minimise ground disturbance.
There may also be implications for workforce safety. Forestry remains one of New Zealand’s highest-risk industries. While autonomous systems introduce their own operational challenges, removing workers and machinery from difficult terrain could eventually reduce exposure to some traditional hazards.
That said, questions remain about economics, productivity and scalability. Industry observers continue to debate whether large drone systems can match the productivity of established forestry equipment or whether they will find niche applications rather than widespread adoption. Online discussions around AirForestry frequently highlight both the promise of reduced environmental impact and the uncertainty surrounding operating costs and large-scale deployment.
Watching the Experiment
The industry will eventually have its say on whether AirForestry ultimately transforms forestry or occupies a specialised role. What is clear is that the company has challenged long-held assumptions about how forests can be managed.
The combination of Olle Gelin’s forestry expertise, Dr Maurtiz Andersson’s aviation vision, Magnus Hedlund’s engineering capability and Caroline Walerud’s business leadership has produced one of the more unusual innovations currently emerging from the global forestry sector.
For New Zealand forestry companies facing increasing pressure to improve safety, reduce environmental impacts and maintain productivity on difficult terrain, AirForestry represents an experiment worth watching. Whether or not drones become a common sight above New Zealand forests, the questions the company is asking may help shape the industry’s next chapter.
Images supplied
