Startup Watch: WaveAerospace’s Heavy-Lift Drone Gets Real-World Army Test
This drone runs on readily available fuels.
Defence startup WaveAerospace is making a push into frontline logistics with its new VTOL drone, the MULE — a multi-mission platform that just wrapped up field testing with the U.S. Army at Fort Irwin under Project Convergence-Capstone 5 (PC-C5).
For early-stage founders in defence, this is the kind of milestone that matters: not just a product demo, but real-world validation in operational conditions. The MULE was designed from day one with one thing in mind — contested logistics. The company’s pitch is simple: ground supply lines are vulnerable, traditional UAVs can’t handle real payloads, and existing military logistics infrastructure wasn’t built for autonomy.
The MULE is WaveAerospace’s answer — a fully electric, self-charging heavy-lift drone that can fly up to 4 hours, carry 100+ pounds of cargo, and operate in high-wind, GPS-denied, and extreme temperature environments. Its 3.5-meter unfolded wingspan and carbon fibre frame are tuned for rapid deployment and rough conditions. The drone uses a multi-constellation GPS system hardened against spoofing and an inertial nav system to keep flying when signals are jammed.
The startup is targeting use cases from ISR to autonomous resupply. But the key focus is on short- to medium-range unmanned logistics — situations where ground vehicles can’t reach and traditional drones don’t have the lift.
According to the company, the MULE runs on liquid propane or heavy fuels, a nod to practical fuel logistics in expeditionary settings. And it’s designed to be field-serviceable — no special tools, no exotic materials, no long downtime.
Why this matters: Defence buyers are actively looking for platforms that can move fast, operate independently, and stay online in hostile environments. WaveAerospace is part of a wave of hardware startups designing dual-use systems that check all those boxes.
Startups breaking into the defence space should watch closely: this isn’t just about spec sheets — it’s about solving hard edge problems, proving it in the field, and building toward a procurement-ready product. WaveAerospace now has that first checkpoint.
