Zephyr solar-powered drone smashes file with 2-month-long flight

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The Airbus Zephyr S, a army reconnaissance plane, has greater than doubled the file it set in 2018 for an uncrewed flight period

Expertise



15 August 2022

By Matthew Sparkes

Flying at some 65,000ft, the ultra-lightweight Zephyr S is uniquely capable of providing persistent surveillance or communications over the same area of land or sea for weeks at a time without landing.

The Zephyr drone flies at an altitude of 18.7 kilometres

Airbus

An uncrewed solar-powered plane has smashed its earlier flight period file by remaining aloft for 2 full calendar months – and it’s nonetheless airborne.

The Zephyr S, constructed by Airbus within the UK, has photovoltaic photo voltaic panels on prime of its wings that may energy its electrical motor and recharge onboard batteries in order that it might fly all through the day and evening.

The plane, which is designed for long-term reconnaissance missions, has a wingspan of 25 metres and weighs lower than …