PETALUMA, Calif. — A California company has unveiled its new “spaceship-like” flying ambulance, aiming to revolutionize emergency response times. Designed to reach speeds of up to 288 mph, the JA1 Pulse has a goal of arriving at an emergency scene within just eight minutes.
This innovation comes as Jump Aero has secured $3.6 million in contracts from the United States Air Force, which will also provide an additional $1.8 million in Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to fund the first full-scale proof-of-concept prototype. In addition, the company has confirmed its first commercial order from Denmark-based Falck Ambulance Services.
The JA1 Pulse uses electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) technology, making it possible for the vehicle to land in challenging terrains. The company states it can fly one trained professional plus emergency equipment to “unimproved landing zones” in the countryside. With this design, Jump Aero aims to help medical professionals quickly reach rural emergency scenes with vital life-saving equipment.
According to the firm, the JA1 Pulse will be capable of “dash speeds of 250 knots,” making it “the fastest form of sustainable personal transportation.” Their stated goal is to arrive at any location within a 50km radius in less than eight minutes.
“Falck is excited to partner with Jump Aero to help us revolutionize the future of emergency services. By enabling professional help to reach hard-to-access locations in a timely manner, Jump Aero will help Falck to deliver improved services to our customers,” says Jakob Riis, CEO of Falck, in a media release.
The company hopes to have the JA1 Pulse on the market by 2027.
“Jump Aero’s aircraft concept and development strategy focusing on rapid emergency response has potential for defense-related use-cases and is complementary to the other eVTOL programs that the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program has engaged with to date,” says Lt. Col. John Tekell, from the U.S. Air Force Agility Prime Program. “We look forward to working with Jump Aero to help mature their dual-use technology.”
10 Key Features of the JA1 Pulse
1. Biplane standing tail-sitter with high L/D and low frontal area
2. Large belly window facilitates steep approaches to unimproved landing zones
3. Full envelope protection
4. Simplified flight controls
5. No catastrophic single-point failures
6. Propellers above head height for operational safety
7. Adaptive/ML flight controller in run-time-assurance architecture
8. Ballistic airframe parachute
9. Transportable without disassembly on a flatbed trailer
10. Easy to maintain: no articulating motors/retractable landing gear
South West News Service writer Dean Murray contributed to this report.
Lea la versión en español en EstudioRevela.com.