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Zephyr flies high
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15/08/2006
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One of QinetiQ’s solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) platform, Zephyr, has confirmed its capability to fly long distances at high altitude by flying for 18hours from the test bed at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico – including 7hours in the dark.
The aircraft, which has a wingspan of approximately 16metres and weighs less than 30kg, uses a combination of solar array and rechargeable batteries that when fully developed, will enable it to operate at more than 50,000ft for months at a time.
Zephyr has been developed as part of a jointly funded programme with the MOD. However, beyond defence and security, it is thought to be applicable for civilian mapping applications, such as crop and forestry fire monitoring. QinetiQ believes that the small size and low unit cost of the Zephyr will provide ‘an order of magnitude reduction in euro per km2 compared with satellite systems.
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Author
Vanessa Knivett
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