Zephyr HALE UAV

Flyaway

Flyaway

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As part of the U.K. Government's SDSR announcement today QinetiQ are to develop & deploy on behalf of the MOD the Zephyr solar powered HALE UAV.


http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/zephyr/

• New equipment and weapons will be made available for the special forces, the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Special Boat Service (SBS). This will include a weaponised Zephyr drone that is capable of remaining in the air for months.
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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/23/trident-nuclear-renewal-costs-rise-by-6bn-defence-review-reveals
 
errr....weaponising Zephyr?
The thing flies at some ungodly altitude and has a comms payload of 2 lbs. What weapons could it possibly carry and deploy? :eek:
 
AeroFranz said:
errr....weaponising Zephyr?
The thing flies at some ungodly altitude and has a comms payload of 2 lbs. What weapons could it possibly carry and deploy? :eek:
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A laser pointe... I mean directed energy weapon?
B)
 

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AeroFranz said:
errr....weaponising Zephyr?
The thing flies at some ungodly altitude and has a comms payload of 2 lbs. What weapons could it possibly carry and deploy? :eek:
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Maybe they intend to scale it up in size.
 
Flyaway said:
AeroFranz said:
errr....weaponising Zephyr?
The thing flies at some ungodly altitude and has a comms payload of 2 lbs. What weapons could it possibly carry and deploy? :eek:
Click to expand...

Maybe they intend to scale it up in size.
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Alternatively, they may be thinking along the lines of an offensive EW suite.
 
The reason i'm skeptical is that solar powered airplanes are extremely sensitive to payload. they are huge and flimsy to start with, and even a small percent increase in weight sends wing area and weight spiraling up. Typical wingloadings are in the order of 1 lb/ft2...
Also, because they're built light (flimsy), they have to fly where winds and turbulence are at a minimum - 65,000'.

All the commercial ventures announced in the recent months from internet companies, if realized, will result in very large aircraft, like wingspans in the order of 50-75 meters. And this just to carry modest payloads. This is why i'm doubtful there will ever be a weaponized (as in kinetic effects) solar UAV.
 
I think this has to be a misunderstanding of what was actually said. This Jane's article I think makes more sense:

http://www.janes.com/article/56204/sdsr-2015-uk-prime-minister-confirms-plans-to-field-near-space-uav-likely-zephyr


Announcing a series of enhancements to the UK's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities during the reading of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in the House of Commons, David Cameron said that the country is to field a "British-designed unmanned aircraft [that] will fly at the very edge of the earth's atmosphere and allow us to observe our adversaries for weeks on end, providing critical intelligence for our forces."

While he gave no further details, the solar-powered Zephyr UAV that Airbus DS is developing with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) under the High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) project is the only platform that fits the bill.
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No reference to weaponization. The SDSR synopsis that was published talks about increased spending in IRS and Communications for Special Forces, which fits Zephyr much better.
 
United Kingdom confirms planned Zephyr UAV buy

The United Kingdom is to procure a pair of Airbus Defence and Space (DS) Zephyr high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for operational trials to determine how best to fulfil its wider persistent surveillance requirements, it was confirmed on 2 February.

Speaking at an event hosted by ADS Group, a non-governmental organisation that represents the UK defence sector, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon said that a GBP10.6 million (USD15.2 million) contract for two Zephyr 8 'pseudo-satellites' for an Operational Concept Demonstrator (OCD) programme was "imminent".
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http://www.janes.com/article/57681/united-kingdom-confirms-planned-zephyr-uav-buy
 
What a shame they couldn't have gone ahead with this while it was all still under the Qinetiq banner..... I'd better say no more at this juncture :(
 
http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2016/02/the-amazing-eternal-sun-drone-will-the-zephyr-shine-or-burn/
 
UK discloses Zephyr-suited payload investment

The UK government’s Centre for Defence Excellence (CDE) is supporting the development of payload projects, which will seemingly be adapted for use on its new Airbus Defence & Space Zephyr high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS).

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-discloses-zephyr-suited-payload-investment-424466/
 
Airbus releases Zephyr T details, outlines CONOPS for systems

http://www.janes.com/article/62274/farnborough-2016-airbus-releases-zephyr-t-details-outlines-conops-for-systems
 
UK opts to acquire third Zephyr pseudo-satellite

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-opts-to-acquire-third-zephyr-pseudo-satellite-428582/
 
Flyaway said:
UK opts to acquire third Zephyr pseudo-satellite

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-opts-to-acquire-third-zephyr-pseudo-satellite-428582/
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Zephyr is being purchased under an Operational Concept Demonstrator (OCD) effort, and will result in an MoD assessment of the surveillance system next year. Opting to acquire the extra airframe will allow the UK government to test two Zephyrs simultaneously, the MoD says.
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...Freudian much...

*snickers*
 
Airbus' high-flying Zephyrs to head to UK for testing

The defence unit of Airbus expects the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to begin testing the company's Zephyr-S very-high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in late 2017, a company executive told Jane's , adding that the system will be delivered to the MoD before the end of the summer.

The United Kingdom ordered two Zephyr-S platforms for GBP10.6 million (USD13.81 million) in February 2016 and then added an optional third airframe to its order last August, bringing the total contract value up to GBP13 million.

"We would hope to see the Zephyr commercialised in the 2020-2022 timeframe - the Dutch navy and army are interested too - though there are still some technical issues to be ironed out," said Jack Offerman, account manager in Leiden for the Netherlands & Denmark at Airbus Defence & Space, in remarks to a small conference on dual-use technologies in Aarhus, Denmark, on 5 May. "We think the platform will have a huge number of transforming applications in terms of its data collection."
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http://www.janes.com/article/70281/airbus-high-flying-zephyrs-to-head-to-uk-for-testing
 
I read about Solar Impulse and the day-night mission profile to store energy in batteries and through ascending to higher altitudes during the day and gliding down in the night (using potential energy). Does Zephyr do it the same way?
 
Airbus to establish Zephyr flight test centre in Western Australia

Airbus has selected Wyndham Airport in Western Australia to be the primary flight test centre for its Zephyr ‘pseudo-satellite’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The Government of Western Australia said on 5 June that Airbus is to establish a site for the High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) programme at the site in the remote far north of both the territory and the country.

“The choice of Wyndham [was made] due to the largely unrestricted airspace and reliable weather, together with the strong support provided by the Western Australian Government,” a statement said.
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http://www.janes.com/article/80630/airbus-to-establish-zephyr-flight-test-centre-in-western-australia
 
Airbus sets flight endurance record with Zephyr UAV

Airbus Defence & Space looks to have earned a new world record for aerial endurance by keeping its Zephyr S solar-powered unmanned aircraft aloft for just minutes shy of 26 days. At 25 days 23h 57min, the maiden flight in Arizona lasted nearly twice as long as the previous record-breaking flight of more than 14 days, set by the aircraft’s predecessor. The company has applied to have the achievement ratified as a world record.
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https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-sets-flight-endurance-record-with-zephyr-uav-451006/
 
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-army-eyes-high-altitude-uavs-like-airbus-zephyr-452551/
 
www.spacewar.com

HAPS reaches new heights

Munich, Germany (SPX) Oct 18, 2021 - The Airbus Zephyr S completes a successful 2021 test flight campaign in the United States. The final Airbus solar-powered High Altitude Platform System (HAPS) flight touched down on 13th September i
www.spacewar.com
 
An Airbus’ Zephyr S solar-powered, very-high-altitude unmanned aircraft is in the midst of a long-duration test flight and has already been aloft for 17 days so far. The drone, sometimes described as a pseudo-satellite in terms of potential capabilities, took off from the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona last month for what the service says is a test of its highly efficient long-endurance flight characteristics as part of broader work to demonstrate its ability to serve as a persistent sensor platform.
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“The Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space (APNT/Space) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) is experimenting with [the Zephyr S] solar powered fixed-wing aircraft to demonstrate military utility of long-duration assessments of various types of sensors,” a spokesperson for the APNT/Space CFT office, which is part of Army Futures Command, told The War Zone in a statement. “This experiment is intended to test the UAV’s energy storage capacity, battery longevity, solar panel efficiency, and station-keeping abilities.”
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swp.thedrive.com

Zephyr High-Flying Drone Has Been Up For 17 Days As Part Of Army Test

The solar powered Zephyr S was last tracked over the Gulf of Mexico after having flown from its Arizona test area to Belize.
swp.thedrive.com swp.thedrive.com
 
@Josh_TN :

The current record of 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes was set in 1958, by Robert Timm and John Cook. The story of this pair of Las Vegas pilots, and their record breaking flight is incredible, often funny, and always a little unbelievable.
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The Flight Endurance World Record

Setting the Flight Endurance World Record There are a lot of world records related to flight. They can be in either a manned or unmanned aircraft, re-fueled or un-refueled, and cover areas such as flight distance,
disciplesofflight.com disciplesofflight.com
 
Zephyr Zulu82 is no longer on ADSB tracking....

She would have broken the record at c0930Z today...

Has she crashed on descent? Last recorded at 15,000 feet over Kofa National Wildlife Refuge adjacent to Yuma Test Range. She's been mainly flying over here to keep the Yuma range clear. From the track she appeared to still be in control, could they have just switched ADS-B off? Would have thought it unlikely now she was coming down lower...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1560493353833181184
View: https://twitter.com/nrowah/status/1560493353833181184

A couple of days ago someone noted a NOTAM for Zephyr near to the US/Mexico border about 100km away from Yuma up to the 7th September. Have they just gone dark and shifted it to trial border surveillance?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1560208169804210176
View: https://twitter.com/Cengiz_Karablut/status/1560208169804210176
 
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So, so close to the record.....

Although its an amazing achievement in itself, including the trip to Belize, and is far, far beyond where anyone else is....can't help thinking if this is an issue with the anhedral join in the wing that they may have to do a re-design or the Phasa 35 team are going to catch up rapidly.

This is the 3rd full loss. Bound to happen when you're pushing the boundaries (and 2 appear to have been related to challenging weather conditions at Wyndham).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1561035381121945606
View: https://twitter.com/RAeSTimR/status/1561035381121945606?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet


https://twitter.com/x/status/1561036394818150403
View: https://twitter.com/RAeSTimR/status/1561036394818150403?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet


https://twitter.com/x/status/1561038082434015232
View: https://twitter.com/RAeSTimR/status/1561038082434015232?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
 

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