Airbus unveils pioneering solar-powered drone
Airbus unveils pioneering solar-powered drone
AFP • July 18, 2018
Farnborough (United Kingdom) (AFP) - European air giant
Airbus on Wednesday unveiled a solar-powered drone called Zephyr that will fly
at a high altitude and fulfil the same functions as a satellite.
The project was presented at Britain's Farnborough
airshow, where Airbus revealed that the Zephyr S took off on July 11 for its
maiden flight from Arizona in the United States.
"This maiden flight of the Zephyr S aims to prove
and demonstrate the aircraft capabilities," Airbus said in a statement.
The High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) has a wingspan
of 25 metres (82 feet) and weighs less than 25 kilogrammes (55 pounds).
It can fly at an altitude of 21,000 metres above the
weather and conventional air traffic.
Another model planned, the Zephyr T, would have a
wingspan of 33 metres.
"The only civil aircraft that used to fly at the
altitude was Concorde," as well as the military reconnaissance U2 and
SR-71 Blackbird planes, Airbus said.
The plan is for the drones to fly for three months in the
stratosphere, with a descent that would last around 30 hours.
Zephyr "is a mix between a satellite and a UAV
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) with the capabilities of a satellite and the
flexibility of a UAV," Jana Rosenmann, head of the drones division at
Airbus, told AFP.
The drone is equipped with battery technology that saves
energy during the day, releasing it at night.
Seven models are planned to be produced in 2018 and seven
more in 2019, Rosenmann said.
The drones will have both military and civilian
applications, including maritime surveillance, border patrol missions and
forest fire detection.
Britain's defence ministry is the first customer.
Airbus said it intended to collaborate closely with
regulatory authorities around the world in the absence of international rules
on such drone flights.
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