Upgraded Autonomous Cargo Delivery Drone Unveiled

The Windracers ULTRA MK2 UAV can carry up to 150 kg and provides double the power output of its predecessor By Mike Ball / 21 Jan 2025

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Upgraded Autonomous Cargo Delivery Drone Unveiled
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Windracers has unveiled the ULTRA MK2, the next generation of the company’s autonomous cargo UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) designed for middle-mile logistics.

With double the power output of its predecessor, the new cargo drone provides a 50% increase in useful payload capacity as well as a significant reduction in fuel costs.

The Windracers ULTRA aircraft, originally conceived to bring down the cost of delivering humanitarian aid to remote communities, is designed and manufactured in the UK. It is currently operational today in Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States, enabling organizations to transport meaningful payloads to hard-to-reach places quickly, safely and cost-effectively.

The launch event, which took place at the ME London hotel, featured interviews of two ULTRA MK2 customers, NORCE and Aviation Sans Frontieres. Rune Storvold, SVP of Observational Systems for NORCE, detailed how ULTRA MK2 will carry two types of radar systems to detect changes to the Antarctic climate. Benoit Gaborit, Head of Mission for Aviation Sans Frontières, spoke of how ULTRA MK2 will, for the first time, integrate a heavy-lift, long-distance drone into the humanitarian aid supply chain to establish a service that can work in rapidly changing conditions.

The Windracers ULTRA MK2 can take off, fly and land safely without the need for a remote pilot and with minimal ground operator oversight, during the day, at night or in fog. ULTRA MK2 is controlled by its proprietary autopilot system, Windracers Autopilot, a multi-layered flight control system that is robust against flight control unit failures and sensor failures. ULTRA MK2 also includes Windracers Mission Control, a route planning and aircraft monitoring system with an intuitive interface that requires minimal training.

The robust 10m-wingspan aircraft features two 50 hp Hirth F23 engines, doubling the power output of its predecessor. ULTRA MK2 provides a significantly enhanced useful payload of 150kg while halving fuel costs per kg.

The multi-purpose Windracers ULTRA platform has numerous practical applications including mail and parcel delivery, humanitarian assistance, defence, medical, and environmental protection. Windracers is trusted by a variety of leading organizations, including British Antarctic Survey, Aviation San Frontières, NORCE, Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Royal Mail, Royal Navy and UK Ministry of Defence.

Windracers has completed hundreds of thousands of kilometres of autonomous flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in some of the world’s most hostile environments, from Scotland’s Orkney Islands to Antarctica. Its UAV has also been conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and supporting resupply for the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2023 as part of the UK Ministry of Defence UAV support programme.

The launch of the ULTRA MK2 comes as governments, regulators and logistics companies increasingly recognize the inevitable transition to autonomous flight. The UK Government recently announced a Regulatory Innovation Office to speed up access to new technologies including cargo drones.

Upgraded Autonomous Cargo Delivery Drone Unveiled

Stephen Wright, Windracers founder and Group Executive Chairman, commented: “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. I know the team shares my excitement as we see the operational impact of ULTRA MK2 for our customers to help people around the world.”

Simon Thompson, Group CEO of Windracers, added: “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. In ULTRA MK2, we have halved our operational fuel cost per kilogram and we will find even more efficiency in the future for our customers.”

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact

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