After an astounding 64 days aloft and a travelling a total more than 30,000nm, a British-built solar-powered UAV crashed just hours before it was due to break the ultimate world endurance record. TIM ROBINSON FRAeS reports.
Army Futures Command has launched an investigation after a flight test of its solar-powered Airbus Defence Zephyr ultra-long endurance stratospheric unmanned air system (UAS) abruptly ended August 19 after more than two months in the air.
A recent US Army Futures Command (AFC) live-flight demonstration of a solar-powered, stratospheric unmanned aerial system (UAS) could play into service-led efforts to extend intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, .
REDSTONE ARSENAL HUNTSVILLE, Ala. The U.S. Army Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space (APNT/Space) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) reported that its stratospheric flight demonstration using the solar-powered Airbus Zephyr 8 ultra-long-endurance solar-powered unmanned aircraft system (UAS) ended after 64 days, with the Zephyr remaining aloft for more than double its intended 30-day continuous flight.