Impossible Aerospace has raised $9.4m through Series A round, a move that comes on the heels of unveiling an electric commercial-grade drone US-1, which is claimed to have a flight time four times greater than the industry average.

The funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners. It takes the total amount raised by the aerospace firm to more than $11m.

The funding round included Eclipse Ventures, an existing investor, and new investor Airbus Ventures.

The Impossible Aerospace board of directors will include David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners and Greg Reichow of Eclipse Ventures.

The funding round will help the firm to scale up production of the US-1 and develop new products.

With a flight time of up to two hours, the drone’s battery life is claimed to out-perform the 25-minute single-charge flight time of other drones currently available.

It is claimed to be on parity with systems fuelled by petrol.

“The US-1 is more than just a drone. It’s the first aircraft designed properly from the ground up to be electric, using existing battery cells without compromise.”

This aircraft has been designed with a battery-first approach which, according to the firm, is essential to allow electric aircraft to compete with traditional fuelled systems.

This follows years of development by a team of engineers, including motor and battery experts from firms such as Tesla and SpaceX.

Impossible Aerospace has started selling its units fitted with optical and thermal sensors to firefighters, police departments, researchers, and search missions across the US.

Impossible Aerospace CEO Spencer Gore said: “The US-1 is more than just a drone. It’s the first aircraft designed properly from the ground up to be electric, using existing battery cells without compromise.

“It’s not so much an aircraft as it is a flying battery, leveraging an energy source that doubles as its primary structure. This is how electric aircraft must be built if they are to compete with conventional designs and displace petroleum fuels in aviation.”

Delivery of the US-1 drone will begin later this year and will be sold online.