British dual-use heavy-lift drone company Windracers, has claimed that it has just become the first heavy-lift drone operator in the world to achieve Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Green status.
This, according to the company demonstrates its readiness to meet growing demand while maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.
In aviation, BARS Green Status indicates that an aircraft operator has successfully completed an audit under the Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) program and has closed all high-priority (Priority 1 and Priority 2) non-conformities.
This status is part of an international auditing program developed by the Flight Safety Foundation to ensure high safety standards, particularly for contracted aviation services in resource, mining, and government sectors.
In a statement, Windracers has said that it has passed these rigorous tests, which it says confirms that all audit findings were closed on time, supporting continuous registration through to October 2026.
Windracers engineers, manufactures and operates Windracers ULTRA, a dual-use heavy-lift drone that can carry cargo over 150kg and has a range of up to 2,000 km.
The aircraft is in active service across Europe, North America, Africa and polar regions, with a growing fleet delivering critical supplies in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
“Achieving BARS Green status as the first heavy-lift middle-mile drone operator is a significant milestone for Windracers and the emerging autonomous aviation industry,” Stewart Wallace, Head of Safety and Regulations at Windracers.
“Like approvals from national aviation authorities such as the UK CAA, achieving BARs Green status is further confirmation that Windracers operates our dual-use heavy-lift drone safely and reliably to carry out missions for customers.”
In September 2025, the UK CAA approved Windracers to conduct the UK’s first civil unmanned aerial system (UAS) international operation.
Windracers was given approval by the CAA and Luftfartstilsynet (Civil Aviation Authority Norway) to fly its Windracers ULTRA beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) from Tingwall Airport in the Shetlands to Haugesund Airport in Norway.