A company have unveiled their spaceship-like flying ambulance.

The JA1 Pulse is designed to speed to emergencies at 288mph (250 knots) with a goal of arriving at the scene within eight minutes.

Californian firm Jump Aero have already won £2.9m ($3.6m) in contracts from the U.S. Air Force, who will further provide £2.9m ($1.8m) Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to be used to fund the first full-scale proof-of-concept prototype.

The company have also confirmed the first commercial order from Denmark-based Falck Ambulance Services.

The new eVTOL design, called the JA1 Pulse, is designed to help medical professionals arrive at the scene of a rural emergency as fast as possible with critical lifesaving equipment.

It can fly one trained professional plus emergency equipment to "unimproved landing zones" in the countryside."

Jump Aero say the aircraft will be capable of "dash speeds of 250 knots", which they claim makes it the fastest form of sustainable personal transportation. The stated goal is to able to arrive at any location within 50km in less than eight minutes."

Falck A/S has purchased an option for the first commercial delivery of a JA1 Pulse aircraft.

Jakob Riis, CEO of Falck, says: "Falck is excited to partner with Jump Aero to help us revolutionise 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."

A Jump Zero spokesperson says the final cost of the aircraft will be determined when the supply chain is set.

They add: "With regards to the timescales, the JA1 Pulse will come to market as soon as it is proven to be safe. That process will take as long as it needs, but our current expectation is 2027."

Lt Col John Tekell, U.S. Air Force Agility Prime Program lead, comments: "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. We look forward to working with Jump Aero to help mature their dual-use technology."


JA1 Pulse FACTS

• Biplane standing tail-sitter with high L/D and low frontal area

• Large belly window facilitates steep approaches to unimproved landing zones

• Full envelope protection

• Simplified flight controls

• No catastrophic single point failures

• Propellers above head height for operational safety

• Adaptive/ML flight controller in run-time-assurance architecture

• Ballistic airframe parachute

• Transportable without disassembly on flatbed trailer

• Easy to maintain: no articulating motors/retractable landing gear