Engineering news
Airbus Defence and Space has applied for an official world record after the feat, achieved by its new British-built and designed Zephyr S High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite. The previous record was held by a Zephyr prototype, which flew for more than 14 days in 2010.
The production unmanned aerial vehicle took off from Arizona on 11 July and remained airborne above the clouds and conventional air traffic using only solar power. Flying in the stratosphere, which starts at above 33,000 feet in mid-latitudes, the Zephyr bridges the capabilities of satellites and drones.
The mission “proves the system capabilities, and achieved all the flight’s engineering objectives,” Airbus said.
The record flight was supported by the UK government, and the Ministry of Defence will be the first customer for the Zephyr. "We are demonstrating new technology that puts our armed forces at the cutting edge of communication and surveillance," General Sir Chris Deverell, commander of the UK's Joint Forces Command, told Professional Engineering.
“This very successful maiden flight represents a significant milestone in the Zephyr programme, adding a new stratospheric flight endurance record which we hope will be formalised very shortly,” said Jana Rosenmann, head of unmanned aerial systems at Airbus.
“We will in the coming days check all engineering data and outputs, and start the preparation of additional flights planned for the second half of this year from our new operating site at the Wyndham airfield in Western Australia.”
As well as military applications, the Zephyr could “revolutionise” disaster management, Airbus claimed. Persistent surveillance could monitor the spread of wildfires or oil spills, track environmental changes over time or provide communications data to the most unconnected parts of the world.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.