Airbus Zephyr solar-powered drone completes 40 days of non-stop flying

Europe, News, US July 25, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Zephyr is a solar-powered high-altitude prototype drone that can be used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and spying.

According to the latest updates, the Zephyr drone has been flying non-stop in the skies of Arizona for about 40 days now. Being a solar-powered drone, Zephyr does not require refueling and it can fly non-stop unless brought down due to bad weather.

Zephyr is an Airbus project which was originally designed by the British defense contractor QinetiQ in 2003. in 2008 a small-scale prototype version named Zephyr 6 was built to break the record for the longest unmanned flight.

Zephyr 6 flew for 82 hours at an altitude of 61,000 ft. Soon after in 2010 another prototype, Zephyr 7 flew 366 hours and 22 minutes (14 days and 22 minutes), setting a new record for the longest unmanned flight. Due to their solar rechargeable batteries, the Zephyr drones can fly indefinitely.

Zephyr S is the latest prototype for the Zephyr project that has completed 40 days of non-stop flying while reaching an altitude of 70,000 feet. The drone took the skies on June 15 in Arizona and broke its own previous record of 25 days of continuous flying. Zephyr S has an 82 feet wide wingspan and it weighs 75 kilograms. The prototype version carries 24 kilograms of batteries and it can accommodate 5 kilograms of payload.

the current design of the Zephyr prototype does not accommodate any payload, however, Airbus claims that the drone can carry a payload in the future. According to the Airbus plans for it Zephyr project, the solar-powered drones would be used to carry payloads from one continent to the other in long hauled transportation flights. In addition, drones can also be used to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance missions.

The current prototype of the Zephyr drone is equipped with electro-optical, infrared, hyperspectral, passive radio frequency (RF) radar, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and an automatic identification system (AIS). The drone is also equipped with an 18cm electro-optical and 70cm infrared imagery and video lens which makes it compatible with Airbus Intelligence advanced processing capabilities.

*^{Airbus Zephyr drone is the world’s leading solar-electric stratospheric Unmanned Aerial System. (Image Credit: Airbus)}*

The Zephyr drones can fly into the upper atmosphere and provide rapid connectivity facilities much faster than satellite connectivity. The drone uses its solar panel-covered wings to power the rotors while charging its lithium-sulfur batteries through sunlight. The batteries can power the drone during the night time while the solar panel-covered wings provide the power to rotors during the daytime.

The current experiment of the Zephyr solar drone focuses on testing its endurance and altitude. The experiment is being supervised by the U.S. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Task Force.