California-based startup FlightWave Aerospace Systems, Inc. has introduced its premier system, the FlightWave Edge UAS, which is a “long-range, high-endurance, vertical take-off aircraft.”

Designed and manufactured in the United States, the UAS offers a variety of unique features, including its ability to perform in various weather conditions and having a wind rejection up to 40 knots; its versatility, as in just seconds, the UAS can automatically transform from a tri-copter to forward flight; and its endurance, as the UAS can fly for more than two hours at a time in cruise and up to 100 km range per charge.

​Thanks to these features and more, FlightWave CMO Edmund Cronin says that the UAS can be used for a plethora of missions.

“This aircraft is no toy. It provides budget-sensitive capabilities that enable customers to achieve their mission for less money,” Cronin says.

“The Edge is ideal for mapping, remote patrol and surveillance, ecosystem monitoring, and other scenarios calling for affordable, long-range eyes in the sky.”

In an effort to give customers their own unique flight experiences and functionalities while using the FlightWave Edge UAS, FlightWave invites partners and customers to participate in the company’s “Payload Partner Program,” which is an initiative to “open-source an integration kit for the Edge’s payload/nosecone.”

Cronin says that FlightWave is the only company to offer an open-source platform to integrate new sensors. He notes that while some clients will design something so specific to their unique needs that it might only be made once, others might design something that will “excite the whole marketplace and, once certified, will be made publicly available in our store.”

“We know we’ll be surprised — and likely inspired — by what new sensors our partners design to fly,” adds Cronin.

Accompanying FlightWave’s announcement of the FlightWave Edge UAS is the announcement that the company has also received an investment from Breakout Labs, the Thiel Foundation’s program of support for deep technology companies.
 
In an interview with Unmanned Systems magazine, FlightWave co-founder Trent Lukaczyk says that the company is very excited about the investment, as it will “provide a lot of opportunities” for the company going forward.

Lukaczyk co-founded FlightWave in 2014 along with Michael Colonno. Both received their PhDs from Stanford University.