British drone producer Windracers has introduced that its ULTRA heavy-lift drone can now fly as much as 2,000km in a single flight whereas carrying a 200kg payload—a functionality that positions the plane among the many world’s most superior long-endurance unmanned aerial programs.
The announcement got here at Windracers LAUNCH 2026 in London, the place CEO Simon Muderack revealed the expanded vary functionality. “Windracers focus has at all times been on ensuring each undertaking is executed effectively and with objective,” Muderack acknowledged. “What we’re reaching with Windracers ULTRA isn’t just concerning the know-how itself, however the way it suits into wider operations and technique to ship missions which have a constructive final result on the bottom.”
Lengthy-Endurance Heavy-Raise Drone Efficiency
The Windracers ULTRA represents a major development in dual-use drone capabilities. Head of Engineering Konstantinos Kontogiannis confirmed the UAS can at present carry greater than 100kg over 2,000km, with the complete 200kg payload functionality anticipated inside months. The two,000km vary—equal to the gap from London to Marrakesh—opens new potentialities for extended-range industrial and civil operations.
The plane is already operational in demanding environments together with Ukraine, Alaska, Central Africa, and polar areas. Its established monitor report demonstrates payload capability exceeding 150kg over distances surpassing 1,000km, making it what the corporate describes as “the world’s most achieved dual-use heavy-lift drone.”
Scaling Manufacturing and Actual-World Purposes
Manufacturing capability is increasing quickly to assist rising demand. Head of Manufacturing Joe Roberts detailed plans to construct lots of of ULTRA plane over the following two years as defence, humanitarian, analysis, and civil air cargo missions begin.
College of Alaska Fairbanks Professor Cathy Cahill, Director of Alaska Middle for Unmanned Plane Programs Integration, highlighted the sensible worth of the heavy-lift drone: “Utilizing heavy-lift drones like ULTRA permits us to ship very important items and providers to communities which are in any other case inaccessible, with out placing pilots in danger. Its robustness, versatility, and reliability give us confidence it would meet the calls for of our operations in difficult situations.”
Ian McNabb is a journalist specializing in drone know-how and life-style content material at Dronelife. He’s based mostly between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys mountain climbing and Boston space sports activities.
