First Tellurium Corp. subsidiary PyroDelta Energy is nearing completion of a next-generation heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicle designed to carry a 300-pound payload for two hours.

The aircraft targets a 450-pound all-up gross weight and incorporates a 64-horsepower, two-stroke motor utilizing PyroDelta’s advanced thermoelectric technology alongside a coaxial rotor head assembly. The propulsion system builds upon technology originally developed for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Lift Challenge.

PyroDelta previously tested a 20-horsepower turbine propulsion model that achieved a 3.35-to-1 payload-to-weight ratio at a total weight of 46 pounds. Following fuel consumption adjustments that led the company to bypass the official DARPA flight competition in July, the engineering team redesigned the aircraft around the larger 64-horsepower motor. The new heavy-lift configuration targets a 2-to-1 payload-to-weight ratio, pairing a 150-pound aircraft with its 300-pound payload capacity.

First Tellurium plans to conduct an official flight test for the new UAV in the second half of September 2026. Company leadership is also engaging with Canadian governments and non-governmental organizations to support future manufacturing and sales, pointing to potential applications in firefighting, search and rescue, remote deliveries, and forestry.

“Our testing to date indicates we can exceed these flight times and ranges, although we must still conduct the official flight test,” said First Tellurium President and CEO Tyrone Docherty. “The value is not just in lifting the weight, but also the range and endurance,”

First Tellurium operates under a business model focused on generating revenue through the development of proprietary tellurium-based technologies alongside mineral discovery and project generation.

Read the full announcement: First Tellurium Subsidiary PyroDelta Energy Announces Development of Next-Generation Heavy-Lift Coaxial UAV