British UAV manufacturer Windracers announced that its multi-purpose cargo drone ULTRA can now fly up to 2,000 km, doubling its previous 1,000 km range.
The company announced this in a press release. The drone can carry payloads of over 100 kg over a distance of 2,000 km, and the company is working to increase its payload capacity to 200 kg over the same range.
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In addition, Windracers is working to increase production capacity "to produce hundreds of ULTRA devices over the next two years." The company's founder and executive chairman, Stephen Wright, highlighted the growing demand for its cargo drones.
The company also emphasizes that its ULTRA drones are operated in rather challenging conditions, including polar regions, Central Africa, and Ukraine.
It should be noted that ULTRA drones were first reported to be in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2024. The drones were delivered to Ukraine in 2023, suggesting that the platform may have been modernized based on feedback from operations in challenging battlefield conditions.
However, as of now, there is no detailed information on how many such drones may have been supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, how they are being used, or whether they are employed solely for cargo missions or have also been adapted to drop munitions or act as a mothership.
It is also unknown whether Ukraine will receive the updated variant. As of now, the Ukrainian military is believed to operate a variant with a range of 1,000 km and a payload of 100 kg.
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