In development
A five-kilogram folding quadcopter designed for 70-minute surveillance missions between −20 °C and +40 °C.
Willow-1 imagery pending
Values tagged target are design values pending flight qualification. Values tagged measured were recorded in flight.
| Configuration | Folding-arm quadcopter, 18-inch folding propellers, carbon-fibre airframe | target |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum take-off weight | ≈ 5.0 kg | target |
| Mission endurance | 70 min design endurance; ≥ 60 min in continuous movement in 40 km/h wind | target |
| Operating temperature | −20 °C to +40 °C | target |
| Wind | 40 km/h sustained | target |
| Operating radius | 6 km line-of-sight | target |
| Operating altitude | Up to 1,000 ft AGL | target |
| Speed | ≈ 12 m/s transit; 4 to 8 m/s loiter | target |
| Take-off and landing | Vertical, from a 2 m² footprint | target |
| Stowed | Fits a 70 L pack or one hard case | target |
| Deployment | Under 10 minutes from case to airborne, single operator | target |
| Battery | In-house pack, ≈ 1 kWh, thermally managed for the full temperature range, built in Canada | target |
| Navigation | Dual-band, multi-constellation GNSS; GNSS-denied position hold, return and landing using inertial, optical-flow and laser-altimeter sensing | target |
| Airspace awareness | ADS-B In | target |
| Payload | Stabilised EO/IR gimbal, 350 g class: zoom day camera plus thermal imager | target |
| Recognition ranges | Person: 500 m day, 250 m night. Vehicle: 1 km day, 500 m night | target |
| Target location | Camera point of aim reported to the ground station as a 6-figure MGRS grid | target |
| Data link | Encrypted 2.4 GHz MIMO IP link, Canadian-made; video, telemetry and control on one link | target |
| Ground station | Rugged tablet with snap-on stick controls, TAK-compatible, rated to −20 °C | target |
| Precipitation | Light rain and snow | target |
| Sourcing | Radio, ground station, on-board computer and software sourced from NATO, NATO-partner or major-non-NATO-ally countries | target |
Willow-1 is sized around one number: 60 minutes of continuous movement in a 40 km/h wind at −20 °C, with margin. The margin comes from larger-than-usual rotors, a high-energy-density pack of our own design, and a dry mass kept to what the mission needs.
Our endurance model was calibrated against our flying demonstrator in September 2026 and predicted the demonstrator's power draw to within 2 %.
Lithium cells lose capacity and gain internal resistance quickly below 0 °C. Willow-1's pack is designed and built in-house to hold its working temperature across the full −20 °C to +40 °C mission profile without an active heater drawing flight energy and with no moving parts.
Willow-1 navigates on a dual-band, multi-constellation GNSS receiver, which is considerably more resistant to multipath and simple interference than the single-band receivers in consumer aircraft.
When satellite navigation degrades or is lost, the flight controller continues on inertial dead reckoning fused with a downward optical-flow sensor and a laser altimeter for velocity and height over ground. That is enough to hold position, fly a return-to-launch on the last good heading, and land without a satellite fix.
Optical flow is less reliable over featureless fresh snow, so the return behaviour is built around inertial and altitude data first, with flow as an aid.
An anti-jam antenna and RTK precision-landing upgrade path is part of the roadmap.
A stabilised EO/IR gimbal in the 350-gram class with a zoom day camera and a thermal imager sized to recognise a person at 250 m and a vehicle at 500 m at night.
The ground station shows the camera's point of aim as a 6-figure MGRS grid in a TAK-compatible display, so an operator can hand off a location without doing any arithmetic.
A rugged, cold-rated tablet with snap-on stick controls; a weatherproof mast radio on a long Ethernet run gives 6 km of line-of-sight. One operator, no laptop, as few controls as possible to learn.
Folding arms tuck flat against the body and the propellers fold, so the aircraft, two packs, ground station and mast travel in one case carried by one person.
Willow-1 is designed and assembled in Ontario. The data link is Canadian-made. The flight computer and sensors come from an allied-nation supplier on the US Blue UAS Framework. The battery pack is built by us in Canada.
September 2026
Carbon-fibre demonstrator (2.9 kg) flying on our first in-house battery pack. 35 minutes measured on a continuous loop, starting from a partial charge (about 93 % state of charge, 24.5 V on a 25.2 V pack) and landing with 5 % remaining. Projected from a full charge to the same landing point: approximately 38 minutes. The model calibrated on this flight is what the Willow-1 endurance target is based on.
Q4 2026
Cold-chamber pack testing at −20 °C. Willow-1 structural build.
2027
Willow-1 first flight, endurance and cold-weather qualification.
We are happy to walk through the design, the endurance model and the test plan.
