Windracers CEO Simon Muderack joined BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up to Money host Felicity Hannah to discuss the company’s growth, the evolving defence landscape and the role of autonomous aviation in both military and humanitarian operations. Listen to Simons Interview from 32:00 here.
The interview explored how Windracers ULTRA, the world’s most accomplished autonomous dual-use heavy-lift drone, was originally developed for humanitarian aid missions and has developed to serve both civil and defence customers. The platform has become an important logistics capability for defence, with operations supporting Ukraine since 2023 while continuing humanitarian deployments in regions such as Madagascar.
Simon also reflected on how the defence sector has evolved to have greater openness around defence technologies and continued government investment in the sector. He highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience through diversified sourcing, proactive planning and scaling manufacturing to meet growing customer requirements.
In discussing the company’s future, Simon outlined Windracers ambitions to expand internationally while continuing to support humanitarian, research and future civil logistics applications, highlighting the opportunity to strengthen the UK’s sovereign manufacturing capability, create high-value engineering jobs and build a more resilient industrial base through advanced aerospace innovation.
