Prototype Uncrewed Air System delivery aircraft development

This project will develop a prototype Uncrewed Air System (UAS) for long-range package delivery. The aircraft development program will take a systems engineering approach and include Industry 4.0 prototyping techniques to deliver a prototype in an accelerated time schedule.

The prototype will allow GAP Drone to develop an autonomous logistics network in rural and regional Australia, enhancing services currently experienced by Australians in these remote areas.

Participants

• Gap Drone
• Australia Post
• Swinburne University of Technology

Project background

GAP Drone, in collaboration with Australia Post and Swinburne University of Technology’s Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub), is developing an autonomous logistics service, using a bespoke designed UAS. The development of the service will focus on regional and remote Australia and assist in closing the gap to some of Australia’s most isolated communities, including First Nations communities.

Project objectives

The primary project objective is to design, develop, and test the prototype the GAP Drone UAS for long range logistics and delivery operations to support Australia Post’s air services business.

Conclusion

This project has been completed, and a final report for it is being used internally.

The fuel crisis of March to Apriil 2026 has shone a spotlight on the challenges we face in Australia to service our rural and remote communities. So, it is exciting to report that the development of an unmanned parcel delivery solution is well underway.  The Gap Drone UAS Development project set out to design and build a long-distance cargo drone; and it was a success.

The Gap Drone Atlas UAV has a 50 kg payload capacity and a range of approximately 1000 kilometres. It was designed to take off and land in just 250m and is able to make use even of unsealed roads near the destination. The first vehicle has been built and is currently being flight tested in another iMOVE project, Gap Drone long-range flight test and ground station development.

We may be about to crack the ‘tyranny of distance’; watch this space.