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Independent drone startup hires ex Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson has joined Windracers Neighborhood, the low-imprint platform for self reliant air transport, in a contemporary role as Neighborhood Chief Executive Officer. He’s going to on the begin focal level on product R&D, fundraising & global development of the company.

Windracers became as soon as founded in 2017 with a clear mission of the usage of self-flying low-imprint drones to lift humanitarian relieve to some distance flung communities. The vision of bringing prosperity to other folks that want it lives on on the present time.

Its ULTRA UAV – a sturdy, twin-engine mounted-soar plane with a 10-metre wingspan – can rob off, soar and land safely with out the want of a some distance flung pilot thanks to its proprietary Masterless autopilot machine. The multi-reason drone can lift 100 kg up to 1000 km, with applications ranging from the provision of parcels and scientific supplies to humanitarian relieve and the detection of wooded field fires.

Simon Thompson, incoming Neighborhood CEO of Windracers, acknowledged: “I’m overjoyed to be joining this cutting-edge British abilities industry basically based entirely in Southampton. Windracers is the low-imprint champion of self reliant aviation and we are now very neatly positioned to rob this capability global. There is solution to discontinuance, nonetheless the most fresh work with the Royal Navy and British Antarctic Watch are a clear demonstration of the company’s enormous doable to relief many industry sectors across the sphere.”

Stephen Wright, Founder & Executive Chairman of Windracers added “We’re fascinated by making self-flying plane inexpensive, exact and an day to day actuality. Simon’s background in building buyer benefiting abilities, deep logistics trip and trip as a FTSE CEO may perhaps be priceless in supporting our mission of taking Windracers’ self reliant drone platform global.”

Simon’s digital trip constructed at firms resembling Apple & lastminute.com blended with his deep logistics trip from Ocado PLC & Royal Mail will present priceless perception to an already talented workers.

Windracers recently expanded into North The US, launching the sphere’s first AI center fascinated by self reliant aviation with the esteemed Purdue College in Indiana. The center, named AIDA3, is aimed at realizing the entire transformational doable of uncrewed aerial autos (UAVs) and related applied sciences by making certain self-flying plane can also also be operated successfully and at scale. The corporate’s ULTRA UAV has carried out its first flights within the United States with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval.

Windracers offers solutions across five sectors: Mail & Parcel, Humanitarian Support, Medical, Defence and Environmental Protection. It has already carried out a success flight trials with Royal Mail, Royal Navy, MOD, British Antarctic Watch and Future Flight subject for UK Overview and Innovation (UKRI).

steve@positionglobal.com