Southampton-based cargo drone manufacturer Windracers has today unveiled the newest iteration of its self-flying cargo drone, the ULTRA MK2.
The unmanned aerial vehicle will provide double the power output of its predecessor as well as a 50% increase in payload size. Windracers say that these new developments could help bring down fuel costs by up to 50%.
Windracers’ drones have already been used in the field. The firm says that their vehicles have been used to carry out reconnaissance and resupply missions in Ukraine, perform geological surveying, and deliver parcels to hard-to-reach islands off the British coast.
UKTN learned that the number of MK1 drones produced was in the “mid-20s” but that the firm aims to ramp up production with the MK2.
New partners that will use the ULTRA MK2 include NORCE, a Norwegian research centre, and Aviation Sans Frontieres, a charity that provides aviation services for humanitarian causes.
Windracers’ partnership with Aviation Sans Frontieres was announced last year as the charity says it will use the drones to deliver humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach areas of Africa this year.
They will integrate a heavy-lift, long-distance drone into the aid supply chain to establish a service that can work in rapidly changing conditions. This humanitarian function was a core part of the firm’s founding mission, its CEO Simon Thompson told UKTN.
Furthermore, Thompson continued that the aircraft could provide a valuable function in monitoring wildfires.
Commenting on the launch, the firm’s CEO said: “From eliminating the need for a pilot to developing a multi-mission platform that is dependable and easy to use and maintain, our ultimate goal is to bring down the cost for the end user.”
Windracers told attendees at the aircraft’s launch event in London that the ULTRA MK2 was designed in under a year.
The firm’s founder Stephen Wright said the launch of ULTRA MK2 is “proof that Windracers has moved rapidly from an idea to a commercial organisation that is meeting the needs of customers today.”
“I am so proud of the Windracers team who have performed phenomenally to bring ULTRA MK2 to market in a very short time period and for ULTRA development over the last eight years.”
Founded in 2017, Windracers aims to facilitate low-cost cargo deliveries using their self-flying cargo drones. It has won funding from UK Research and Innovation, an NGO that directs research funding from the UK government, with their drones being used by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
Since 2024, Simon Thompson, a former chief executive of Royal Mail, has led the firm.
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