UK developer Windracers will on 20 January begin assembling the first example of its newly revealed Ultra MkII cargo drone ahead of delivery to launch customer Norce around one month later.
Unveiling the improved version of its Ultra uncrewed air vehicle (UAV) in London on 16 January, Windracers founder and group chairman Stephen Wright said the platform had the potential to “transform transport logistics across the world”.
Wright says the evolution of the Ultra has “ended in something really practical that absorbs operational feedback and is ready to perform the missions we want to attack”.
Group chief executive Simon Thompson says customers told Windracers not to change “the fundamental simplicity of the platform” or “how robust it is”, but that they wanted “more payload with less cost”.
Assembly of the initial example will begin next week, he says, leading to delivery around three to four weeks later. Norwegian research body Norce is taking two Ultra MkIIs for aerial surveying work in the Arctic, investigating the impacts of climate change.
Key changes over the first iteration of Ultra – described by Thompson as a “prototype to prove use cases” – include the addition of more powerful engines, an inverted V-tail and upgraded landing gear.
Power now comes from a pair of customised 50hp (37kW) two-stroke F23 engines from Germany’s Hirth, doubling output over the MkI’s off-the-shelf Briggs & Stratton industrial motors.
Maximum take-off weight has risen to 510kg (1,130lb) from 400kg previously, and payload has also increased to 150kg from 100kg. Although the higher output engines are inevitably more thirsty, the payload growth and a lower-drag design help to deliver a reduction in the operational fuel-burn per kilo carried.
Wright says the enhancements enable the MkII to get closer to the company’s goal of moving 100kg of payload over 540nm (1,000km) routes.
Adding the V-tail in place of the MkI’s vertical and horizontal tail configuration is “lower cost and lower mass” with “fewer parts”, says chief designer Andrew Lock, also making it easier to rig and de-rig for transport.
Better crosswind performance should see the MkII exceed its predecessor’s 20kt (37km/h) limit, he adds.
In all, some 80 improvements were made to the design, 30 of which are to enhance the ease of production and reassembly. First flight of the MkII prototype (G-WNDB) took place in October 2024.
Thompson says the changes should allow Windracers to meet its target of building one Ultra MkII daily at its new final assembly site in Fareham in southern England.
Major structures are built by partner Jaivel Aerospace in India – also a supplier to OEMs including Airbus and Boeing – and shipped to the UK for final assembly.
Engines and avionics also arrive at the final assembly line pre-wired for installation, further simplifying the build process.
While declining to say how long it takes to build an Ultra MkII at present, Thompson says that figure should reduce by 75% as the year progresses, effectively increasing production capacity by a factor of four.
On that basis, the Fareham site is more than capable of handling the envisaged output, he adds: “I am building the capability to build one per day.”
Windracers’ production system will also make it easier to localise the process, to “manufacture and assemble close to the customer”.
But what is not yet clear is the demand for the platform. Wright and Thompson are both convinced that the market for middle-mile logistics alone – journeys of 27-270nm – will account for hundreds of units.
However, to achieve full market potential, the cost of operation will need to be further reduced, says Wright, through changes in the regulations allowing a single UAV pilot to monitor “20, 30, or 40 aircraft” at a time.
Other targeted segments include humanitarian aid delivery and defence. In the latter case, the UK Ministry of Defence has already procured an undisclosed number of Ultra MkIs which have then been donated to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Kyiv is using the UAVs for electronic intelligence-gathering missions, replicating the capability of a bespoke platform like the Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint at a fraction of the cost.
Having the aircraft in Ukraine has been “incredibly valuable”, says Wright, allowing Windracers to rapidly develop and field improvements or new capabilities – such as cargo drops – based on operational feedback.
“Our job is to be like a Formula One team and fit [improvements] into the design before the next race.
“Drone manufacturers are split into two camps at present: those that are in Ukraine and those that are not,” he says.
The original Ultra was created to perform humanitarian airlift missions and despite the somewhat contradictory move into the military market, Windracers has not lost sight of its original goal.
Wright says that based on its analysis, around 200 Ultras would be required to meet the current humanitarian lift requirements of South Sudan alone.
Windracers’ first humanitarian customer for the MkII is Aviation Sans Frontiers (ASF) – “the NGO for NGOs” – which will take a single example in the second half of 2025 for use in an undisclosed central African country. Windracers will operate the aircraft on the NGO’s behalf.
Benoit Gaborit, head of mission for ASF, says the improvements embodied on the MkII are vital: “We expect to fly in mountainous areas and the higher engine power will help us to have full cargo capacity.”
ASF already operates a pair of Cessna Caravans and Gaborit says the addition of the Ultra will allow it to access locations that are deemed too risky for manned flights. “You don’t expect to lose a drone, but if it is nothing compared to losing a life,” he adds.
