Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA): USAF's semi-secret spy drone

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The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is an Air Force-led technology and concept development effort to procure an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) that is capable of multiple-day duration flights while still being extremely affordable. The semi-classified ULTRA program was conceived by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) and developed in conjunction with DZYNE Technologies Inc. (pronounced "design"), a company based in Irvine, Calif.

The philosophy behind ULTRA

Current platforms require large squadron sizes operating at high sortie rates from bases near areas of interest, resulting in significant operating footprints at forward operating bases (FOBs) and higher maintenance needs. The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, used for long-range reconnaissance and other missions, began life as a ground strike aircraft, and was only later modified for reconnaissance missions, resulting in its high cost (US$30 million each). Despite its qualities, the Reaper is vulnerable. Putting such a very expensive air frame at risk meant that a lot of money had been wasted to enemy fire. The Air Force needed an alternative, and pushed for a design that wouldn't be configured for combat, since only one percent of all missions actually involved attack. Furthermore, deploying a cost-cutting drone means that you can deploy more of them to cover larger remote areas.

DZYNE Technologies developed a persistent aircraft based on an existing airframe to demonstrate long-endurance technologies to overcome these challenges. ULTRA utilizes a novel approach to achieve long endurance and acquisition cost objectives by repurposing a previously manned commercial sport glider (the Stemme S12 high-performance motorglider) and converting it to a military hardened UAV. The result is an unmanned long-endurance ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) platform boasting an endurance of more than 80 hours with a payload of 180 kg (400 lb). Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) UAS technology, existing manufacturing and supply channels, and limited custom avionics are utilized to ensure acquisition and sustainment costs remain low. The ULTRA platform can overcome the challenges posed by long distances, which currently hinder the operational use of unmanned platforms in extensive areas such as the Pacific Ocean.

History of the program

In August 2017, a $149,992 grant was awarded to identify key components and technology for the ULTRA system as part of Phase I of the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. A $1.49m grant was then awarded in August 2018 to develop key components and technology identified during the Phase I trade study and conceptual design of the Phase II SBIR SRRT program. The funding supported the testing of the surrogate aircraft for a mission lasting more than three days.

In 2020 ULTRA performed limited operational test and evaluation over a six-month period, the results of which informed payload and system requirements to meet current and future needs. The contract ended in August 2020, but ULTRA's existence was disclosed only four years later, after the Air Force released photos and confirmed the drone had been deployed to an undisclosed location in May 2024 and was now active. That location was later revealed to be the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

Design and features of ULTRA

The ULTRA system weighs 3,000 lb, has a wing span of 82 ft, and a ceiling exceeding 25,000 ft. It has a cruise speed of 70 knots and a dash speed of 96 knots, with a required runway length of 5,000 ft. Furthermore, the aircraft can endure for more than 80 hours while carrying a payload exceeding 400 lb.

The ULTRA system is designed as a reconfigurable missionised platform that offers combatant commanders an affordable, global positioning system (GPS) hardened ISR platform with ultra-long endurance, ensuring comprehensive global operational access. ULTRA is designed to be an ISR truck capable of carrying a variety of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR), radiofrequency (RF), other low-cost intelligence collection payloads, and sensors to provide the user with a reconfigurable missionized platform. Integration of lower cost EO/IR and RF sensors is made possible due to lower operating altitudes which don’t require large optics, or high-power RF to maintain effectiveness. Exceptionally long endurance allows these ISR sensors to provide unblinking coverage of areas of interest with fewer aircraft. Furthermore, ULTRA is an economical option when multiple aircraft systems need to be purchased to cover larger areas of interest.

ULTRA relies on an operator friendly command and control system that allows for “Point and Click” operations. Full global operations are possible through satellite-based command and control links that also provide the high-rate ISR data feed to the operators in real time. "The ULTRA system is truly unique in its ability to conquer the tyranny of distance that inhibit operational use of current unmanned platforms at excessive ranges required in areas of operations such as the Pacific."

The ULTRA platform is designed to transform the US Air Force’s battlefield intelligence capabilities, enabling it to not only economically procure aircraft systems in large quantities but also providing an aircraft that is effective at these excessive ranges. Whether ULTRA will become a production article still remains to be seen, and so far it hasn't yet been given a DoD designation, but the fact that it still appeared in the Air Force's Aircraft Procurement budget estimates for FY2025 (with a request for four aircraft totalling over US$35 million — almost a quarter of the Reaper's cost) suggests that the program is bound to gain momentum in the near future.​

Sources (in no particular order):

• FY2025 Air Force Aircraft Procurement Vol. 1
• AFRL website
• Gigazine article
• Airforce Technology website
• New Atlas website
• Designation-Systems website