We guess having the continent’s first and biggest drone corridor – along with an academy that attract the best minds from all over the continent has its advantages.
That is the case for the southern African country of Malawi – home to the African Drone and Data Academy and the Humanitarian drone corridor in Kasungu – which has attracted drone start-ups from all over the world, thanks to the willingness of the government to allow entrepreneurs to try out new stuff in its backyard.
This openness to drone technology has seen drone companies like Wingcopter, Swoop Aero (now Kite Aero) and Jedsy set up logistics operations in the country, which have helped deliver medical products to remote areas.
And seeing this Windracers, the UK-based designer, manufacturer and operator of Windracers ULTRA, an autonomous heavy-lift cargo aircraft, has begun establishing an operational base at Kasungu Airfield in Malawi.
The operational base, in central Malawi, features a newly created aircraft hangar and will serve as the hub for demonstrating the delivery of humanitarian aid across the area using the long distance heavy-lift cargo drone.
Working closely with the Malawi Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Meteorological Services, the base will also provide a real-world testbed for the delivery and dropping by parachute capabilities of Windracers ULTRA, a rugged 10m wing-span aircraft with integrated proprietary autopilot systems and mission control software.
“We developed ULTRA with the idea of providing low-cost means of delivering humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach locations for people who need help the most,” said Stephen Wright, Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Windracers.
“Flights from Kasungu will support a range of humanitarian and development use cases, including medical logistics, environmental monitoring, and disaster response. We’re very grateful to our partners in Malawi for helping bring this to life.”
The drone company will be deploying the Windracers ULTRA MK2 – a heavy-lift long distance self-flying cargo aircraft capable of transporting up to 150 kg with a range of up to 1,000 km.
The Windracers platform is also dual-use, multi-mission and offers an optional 3-door drop bay floor to safely and accurately parachute aid and supplies if required.
In the coming weeks, and thanks to cold chain innovation, it will undergo trials focused on the delivery of vaccines and other temperature-sensitive medical supplies across remote areas.
The drone has also supported wildfire operations and dropped medical supplies by parachute.