GAP Drone
"Closing The Divide"
Moonee Ponds, Victoria startup founded 2023 building the ATLAS cargo UAV: 50 kg payload over 1,000 km, partnered with Australia Post and RMIT.
GAP Drone Pty Ltd is a Melbourne company developing a long-range uncrewed cargo aircraft for freight to remote and regional Australia. It was founded in 2023 by Liesl Haris, chief executive and a former chief operating officer of Amber Aviation Group, and Benet Hare, chief operating officer, a former captain and training captain with Cathay Dragon and Qantas and chief remote pilot at Proagco Australia. Tony Mathews, a former chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and former deputy chairman of Airservices Australia, joined first as corporate advisor and now chairs the board. The company's stated focus is cheaper and lower-emission airfreight for remote communities, with particular reference to First Nations communities.
Its aircraft is ATLAS, a fixed-wing uncrewed aerial vehicle in the medium remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) class, with a maximum take-off weight of 150 kg or less. The company quotes a payload of up to 50 kg (0.7 cubic metres), take-off and landing from about 250 m of unsealed strip, a modular airframe with removable wings and carbon-fibre composite construction. Range figures differ across its own pages: 800 km on the product page heading, 1,000 km in its text and on the home page, and 1,200 km with reduced payload. After the maiden flight of the ATLAS-C platform in outback Queensland in 2026, the company reported that post-flight analysis supports a modelled range of around 1,400 km, along with passive stability, an initial autonomous cruise mission and all engine performance targets met. It claims up to 80 percent lower carbon emissions than conventional delivery to remote areas.
Airframe development was supported by the Aerostructures Innovation Research (AIR) Hub at Swinburne University and the iMove cooperative research centre, announced in April 2024 together with equity-free funding from an Australian partner. In October 2025 GAP Drone announced a partnership with Australia Post and RMIT University on middle-mile drone freight, and in November 2025 it displayed the ATLAS core hardware ahead of outback deployment. Archerfield Airport signed a memorandum of understanding with the company. A defence page markets the airframe for surveillance, resupply and search and rescue.
The stated next steps are production of three MVP aircraft and a first commercial aircraft, moving towards beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations on initial Australia Post routes. The company says it is raising institutional funding with a target close in December 2026 and preparing a Series A round. It has also announced a Philippines director and a plan for a UAS assembly plant there under a joint venture. GAP Drone was nominated for Startup of the Year and Innovation of the Year at the Australian Aviation awards 2025 and was runner-up in the AMDA Innovation Awards 2025.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
ATLAS Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle
Long-range autonomous cargo UAV in the medium RPA class for freight to remote Australian communities.
More related news
-
1
RobotToday Weekly October 5 – 9, 2026 RobotToday · Oct 10, 2026
- 2
-
3
IROS 2026 Best Paper Finalists: South Korea Leads RobotToday · Oct 07, 2026
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
-
9
IMTS 2026 Preview: Record Orders and the Automation Story RobotToday · Sep 14, 2026
- 10
-
11
RobotToday Weekly Briefing August 31 – September 4, 2026 RobotToday · Sep 05, 2026
-
12
WRC 2026 Exhibitor Map: 248 Robotics Companies Mapped RobotToday · Aug 26, 2026
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
-
18
US Restrictions on Chinese Humanoid Robots: The Full Map RobotToday · Jul 25, 2026
-
19
Physical AI Landscape: From Digital Intelligence to the Embodied Physical World RobotToday · Jul 10, 2026
-
20
Automate 2026 | Amprius SiCore SA88 Competes for Innovation Award in Robotics Battery Category RobotToday · Jun 29, 2026
Contact GAP Drone
WEBSITE
https://www.gapdrone.coHEADQUARTERS
Australia
Company Facts
Founded
2023
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Oceania
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
Keywords
