Drones have definitely made their mark over the past few years, largely for their use in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While militarized platforms are proving their utility for remote assault, there is also ongoing development for drones as platforms for sensors and surveillance.
The British solar-powered drone built by QinetiQ officially broke the endurance record today by flying 14 days this summer. The drone, dubbed Zephyr, flew from July 9 to July 23 over the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Federation Aéronautique Internationale just certified the flight for both duration and as the longest time an airplane has flown without refueling.
AeroVironment recently tested a large-scale spy drone with a 175-foot wingspan called the Global Observer. The craft has a hybrid-electric engine with both a battery system and a liquid hydrogen-fueled propulsion system. It is designed to climb to 55,000-65,000 feet and hang there five to seven days. It reached 4,000 feet during an hour-long maiden test flight at Edwards AFB in August powered only by its batteries.
Boeing’s hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye drone, with a 150-foot wingspan, is projected to fly its first test missions this coming Spring. This initial Phantom Eye platform will have a capability to stay aloft for four days, but there are plans in the works to nearly double the wingspan to increase its 400-pound payload and extend its flight time to 10 days.
These high altitude, long-endurance, drones are intended to offer low-cost persistent coverage for remote sensing observations as well as communications relay. The ability to relocate these quickly, to provide consistent real-time tracking of weather and other conditions, and to serve as a data hub for communications make them ideal for military use, but also for disaster response and even environmental monitoring. A significant benefit of all three of these prototypes is the fact that they consume no fossil fuels and emit no carbon emissions.
