U.K.-based QinetiQ has filed for three world records for Zephyr, its solar powered high-altitude long endurance (HALE) Unmanned Air System (UAS), with the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the company announced Tuesday.
The records, subject to verification, include the absolute duration record for an Unmanned Air Vehicle – being filed at 336 hours, 22 minutes; the duration record for a UAV (in the U/1.c / 50-500Kg category); and the absolute altitude record for a UAV (in the above category) – being filed at 70,740 feet.
Zephyr was launched July 9 and stayed aloft for 14 nights (336 hours, 22 minutes) above the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, before being brought safely back to earth on the morning of July 23 having achieving all the objectives of the trial, according to the company. During the Yuma trial, Zephyr carried a communications payload configured to meet the needs of the U.K. Ministry of Defence.
“We’re delighted that Zephyr should soon enter the world record books as it is set to transform the delivery of current services such as communications, and lead to many new applications which are not possible or affordable by other means. We’ve now proved that this world-beating aircraft is capable of providing a cost effective, persistent surveillance and communications capability measured in terms of weeks, if not months,” said Chris Kelleher, QinetiQ’s chief designer.