Airbus Zephyr

Last updated

Zephyr
Airbus Zephyr Artists Impression.jpg
An artist's impression of the UAV
Role high-altitude platform station
National originUnited Kingdom
Manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space
Design groupinitially Qinetiq
First flightDecember 2005 [1]
Introduction2024 (planned) [2]
StatusUnder development

The Zephyr is a series of high-altitude platform station aircraft produced by Airbus. They were designed originally by QinetiQ, a commercial offshoot of the UK Ministry of Defence. In July 2010, the Zephyr 7 flew for 14 days. In March 2013, the project was sold to Airbus Defence and Space. In the summer of 2022, the Zephyr 8/S flew for 64 days.

Contents

The unmanned aerial vehicles are powered by solar cells, recharging batteries in daylight to stay aloft at night. The latest Zephyr 8/S weighs 60 kg (130 lb), has a wingspan of 25 m (82 ft), can reach 23,200 m (76,100 ft) and can lift a 5 kg (11 lb) payload for months. They can be used for mobile phone coverage, environmental monitoring, military reconnaissance or as a communications relay.

Development

Zephyr 3

In 2003, QinetiQ, a commercial offshoot of the UK Ministry of Defence, was planning to fly its Zephyr 3 up to 40 km at 70 m/s (250 km/h; 140 kn), after being released from a high-altitude balloon at 9 km, besting the NASA Helios which had reached 29 km. [3] It was envisionned as an alternative to space satellites, stationed permanently in the stratosphere for environmental monitoring, mobile phone coverage or military applications. [3] The QinetiQ 1 balloon altitude record attempt failed in 2003. [4]

In February 2005, Qinetiq was preparing a demonstration above 30,000 ft for the UK Ministry of Defence at the Woomera Test Range in Australia, for reconnaissance or as a communications relay. [4]

Zephyr 6

Between 28 and 31 July 2008, in a demonstration for the US military at its Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the Zephyr 6 flew for 82 hours and 37 minutes, an unofficial record as the FAI wasn't involved. [5]

Zephyr 7

On 23 July 2010, the Zephyr 7 took the FAI-sanctioned duration record after a 336 hours (14 days), 22 min and 8 s flight, [6] reaching 21,562 m (70,741 ft). [7] It exceeded the nine days (216 hours) of the 1986 round-the-world flight of the Rutan Voyager. [8]

In March 2013, the project was sold to EADS Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space). [9]

In 2014 it flew for 11 days in the short days of winter whilst carrying a small payload for the British Ministry of Defence, [10] and later near civilian airspace. [11]

Zephyr 8/S

In February 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence purchased two Zephyr 8 planes. [12] In August 2016, a third was purchased. [13]

In 2016, a twin-tailed Zephyr T variant, providing a maritime surveillance and communications capability, was scheduled for flight testing in 2018. [14]

In summer 2018, for its maiden flight from Arizona, the Zephyr S remained aloft for 25 days 23 hours 57 minutes, nearly twice as long as the previous record flight of 14 days set by its predecessor. [15] By October 2021, it had flown 2,435 hours. [16]

On 15 June 2022, the Zephyr S took off in Arizona, venturing for the first time into international airspace and over water. [17] On 19 August, the plane was lost over the Arizona desert after a flight time of 64 days.[ citation needed ] It covered 56,000 km over the southern United States, the Gulf of Mexico, and South America. [18]

The aircraft was lost when one engine component (redesigned since) failed in an unusual high-altitude storm turbulence at 17 km. [2] By early 2023, Airbus planned to launch operations from the end of 2024 with around 18 aircraft. [2] By 2034, a 1,000 aircraft constellation could cover 2.9 billion people, and would provide emergency 4G/5G following natural disasters. [2] The larger Zephyr variant, with twice the payload capacity, is expected for 2026. [2]

Commercial services

In January 2023, the Aalto HAPS company was set up by Airbus to sell its mobile connectivity and earth observation services. [19] In June 2024, a Japanese consortium led by NTT Docomo and Space Compass committed to invest USD$100m in AALTO to commercialise connectivity HAPS services in Asia, targeting a 2026 introduction. [20]

Design

Zephyr 3

The 12 m (39 ft) wide aircraft had a carbon composite frame to weigh 12 kg (26 lb), and 1 kW of solar cells powering five motors. [3]

Zephyr 6

The carbon fiber Zephyr 6 has a 18 m (59 ft) span and weighs 30–34 kg (70 lb) for a 2 kg (4.5 lb) payload. [5] Amorphous silicon solar cells from Unisolar recharge lithium-sulphur batteries from Sion Corporation with twice the energy density of the best alternative, lithium polymer batteries. [5] Launched by hand, it can reach 18 km (60,000 ft). [5] The first version had a battery capacity of 3 kW·h, driving two propellers. [21]

Zephyr 7

Zephyr 7 was larger, at 53 kg, [22] and capable of a maximum altitude between 20 and 21 km, [23] it required five ground crew to launch, as opposed to three previously for the Zephyr 6. [24]

Zephyr 8/S

Designed to fly at 20 km (65,000 ft) for more than a month, the 25 m (82 ft) wide Zephyr 8 is 30% lighter and can lift 50% more batteries than the Zephyr 7. [25] It weighs 60 kg, 40% of which are batteries (24 kg), and the 5 kg payload can transmit video with a 50 cm resolution from above 20 km. [12] They should be able to operate year-round between 40 degrees North and South, while winter operation gets more difficult at higher latitudes. [12]

It used Amprius lithium-ion batteries with silicon nanowire anodes for a 435 Wh/kg specific energy up from 300–320 Wh/kg. [26] Solar cells are high-efficiency, lightweight, and flexible inverted metamorphic multi-junction epitaxial lift-off GaAs sheets manufactured by MicroLink Devices, with specific power exceeding 1,500 W/kg and areal powers greater than 350 W/m2. [27]

One Zephyr can replace 250 cell phone towers. [28] It can be used to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) with a wide visual payload coverage of 20×30 km (12.4×18.6 mi) and can be equipped with radar, LIDAR and infrared technologies. [17]

Endurance is targeted for up to 200–300 days. [2] An 8 kg (17.6 lb) mobile connectivity payload can serve up to 100,000 people on the ground. [2] A 5 kg Airbus-developed Opaz optical sensor can deliver 18 cm-resolution imagery. [2]

Specifications

Airbus-QinetiQ Zephyr [29]
ModelSpanWeightCeilingEndurancePayload
Zephyr 412 m (39 ft)17 kg (37 lb)9 140 m (30 000 ft)6 h
Zephyr 516 m (52 ft)31 kg (68 lb)11 000 m (36 000 ft)18 h
Zephyr 618 m (59 ft)30 kg (66 lb)18 300 m (60 000 ft)87 h2 kg (4.4 lb)
Zephyr 722,5 m (74 ft)53 kg (117 lb)21 000 m (69 000 ft)336 h5 kg (11 lb)
Zephyr 8/S25 m (82 ft)62-65 kg (137-143 lb)23,200 m (76,100 ft) [16] 624 h5 kg (11 lb)
Zephyr T32 m (105 ft)145 kg (320 lb)20 kg (44 lb)

Accidents and incidents

As of August 2022, three hull losses have been reported:

See also

Notes and references

  1. Craig Hoyle (11 July 2006). "Energetic Qinetiq". flightglobal.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Craig Hoyle (6 January 2023). "Airbus readies high-flying Zephyr for 2024 service launch". Flightglobal.
  3. 1 2 3 Amos, Jonathan (24 June 2003). "Strato-plane looks forward". BBC News.
  4. 1 2 Craig Hoyle (22 February 2005). "UK's Zephyr UAV to be tested for military role". Flight International.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Amos, Jonathan (24 August 2008). "Solar plane makes record flight". BBC News.
  6. "FAI Record ID No. 16052". FAI. 16 October 2017. Absolute Record of class U (Experimental / New Technologies) for Duration
  7. "FAI Record ID No. 18683". FAI. 29 August 2018. Record of class U (Experimental / New Technologies) for True altitude
  8. Amos, Jonathan (23 July 2010). "'Eternal plane' returns to Earth". BBC News.
  9. "First flight of Astrium's Zephyr solar HAPS" (Press release). Airbus. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  10. Tovey, Alan (31 August 2014). "Fly 11 days non-stop? Now that's long-haul". Daily Telegraph .
  11. Woodrow Bellamy III (1 October 2014). "Airbus Zephyr Proves Value For Civil Operations in Middle East". Avionics Today. Access Intelligence LLC.
  12. 1 2 3 "MoD to buy high-flying solar planes". BBC. 2 February 2016.
  13. "MOD buys third record-breaking UAV" (Press release). UK MOD. 17 August 2016.
  14. "Farnborough 2016: Airbus releases Zephyr T details, outlines CONOPS for systems". Janes. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016.
  15. Dan Thisdell (8 August 2018). "Airbus sets flight endurance record with Zephyr UAV". Flightglobal.
  16. 1 2 Sampson, Ben (15 October 2021). "Airbus Zephyr breaks more aviation records during flight testing". Aerospace Testing International.
  17. 1 2 Buchaniec, Catherine (22 July 2022). "Up, up and away: Airbus' Zephyr drone breaks flight record high above Arizona". Defense News.
  18. "Unexpected end to Zephyr 8's record-smashing 64-day endurance flight". New Atlas. 24 August 2022.
  19. Ben Sampson (23 January 2023). "Airbus brands stratospheric drone business as Aalto". Aerospace testing international.
  20. "NTT DOCOMO and Space Compass partners with Airbus on HAPS, committing to a USD$100 million investment in AALTO" (Press release). AALTO. 3 June 2024.
  21. Bush, Steve (28 September 2007). "Inside Qinetiq's Zephyr solar powered plane". Electronics weekly .
  22. "Wing-to-tail guide to Zephyr, the 'eternal' plane". BBC News. 23 July 2010.
  23. "British MoD Acquires Solar-Powered Zephyr UAV". 17 February 2016.
  24. Goodier, Rob (7 July 2010). "Solar Plane Aims for New Record: 3 Months Aloft Without a Pilot or Fuel". Popular mechanics .
  25. "United Kingdom Ministry of Defence places order for two solar-powered Airbus Zephyr 8s" (Press release). Airbus. 18 February 2016.
  26. Graham Warwick (13 December 2018). "Record-Breaking Zephyr's Battery Holds eVTOL Potential". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  27. MicroLink Devices (17 October 2018). "MicroLink Devices Powers Successful Stratospheric Flight of Airbus Defence and Space Zephyr S HAPS Solar Aircraft" (Press release).
  28. "Zephyr". Airbus.
  29. "Airbus-QinetiQ Zephyr". AviationsMilitaires.net.
  30. 1 2 "In-flight break-up involving Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle, near Wyndham Airport, Western Australia, on 28 September 2019". Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 28 September 2020.
  31. "Outback aviation incident linked to UK Ministry of Defence". 9News. 12 April 2019.

Related Research Articles

QinetiQ is a multinational defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabilities for air, land, sea and target systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Pathfinder</span> Unmanned solar powered aircraft

The NASA Pathfinder and NASA Pathfinder Plus were the first two aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. They were developed further into the NASA Centurion and NASA Helios aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites Proteus</span> Experimental aircraft

The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to carry various payloads on a ventral pylon. The Proteus has an extremely efficient design and can orbit a point at over 19,800 m for more than 18 hours. It is currently owned by Northrop Grumman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar vehicle</span> Electric vehicle powered by solar energy

A solar electric vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually, photovoltaic (PV) cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AeroVironment</span> American unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer

AeroVironment, Inc. is an American defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul B. MacCready Jr., a designer of human-powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971. The company is best known for its lightweight human-powered and solar-powered vehicles. The company is the US military's top supplier of small drones —notably the Raven, Switchblade, Wasp and Puma models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar Impulse</span> Long-range solar-powered aircraft

Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project's two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to circle the world non-stop. The Solar Impulse project's goals were to make the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power and to bring attention to clean technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric aircraft</span> Aircraft powered directly by electricity, with no other engine needed

An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight endurance record</span> Length of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing

The flight endurance record is the longest amount of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing. It can be a solo event, or multiple people can take turns piloting the aircraft, as long as all pilots remain in the aircraft. The limit initially was the amount of fuel that could be stored for the flight, but aerial refueling extended that parameter. Due to safety concerns, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) no longer recognizes new records for the duration of crewed airplane or glider flights and has never recognized any duration records for helicopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight altitude record</span> Highest journeys by aircraft ever made

This listing of flight altitude records are the records set for the highest aeronautical flights conducted in the atmosphere, set since the age of ballooning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DRDO Rustom</span> Type of aircraft

The DRDO Rustom is a family of medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the three services, Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, of the Indian Armed Forces. Rustom is derived from the NAL's LCRA developed by a team under the leadership of late Professor Rustom Damania in the 1980s. The UAV will have structural changes and a new engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-altitude platform station</span> Aircraft that provides common satellite services

A high-altitude platform station, also known as atmospheric satellite, is a long endurance, high altitude aircraft able to offer observation or communication services similarly to artificial satellites. Mostly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), they remain aloft through atmospheric lift, either aerodynamic like airplanes, or aerostatic like airships or balloons. High-altitude long endurance (HALE) military drones can fly above 60,000 ft over 32 hours, while civil HAPS are radio stations at an altitude of 20 to 50 km above waypoints, for weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Phantom Eye</span> Proposed unmanned aerial vehicle

The Boeing Phantom Eye is a high altitude, long endurance (HALE) liquid hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Boeing Phantom Works. The aircraft was Boeing's proposal to meet the demand from the US military for unmanned drones designed to provide advanced intelligence and reconnaissance work, driven by the combat conditions in Afghanistan in particular. In August 2016, the Phantom Eye demonstrator was disassembled for display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum.

The AeroVironment Global Observer is a concept for a high-altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, designed by AeroVironment (AV) to operate as a stratospheric geosynchronous satellite system with regional coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Centurion</span> Type of aircraft

The NASA Centurion was the third aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. It was developed from the NASA Pathfinder Plus aircraft and was developed into the NASA Helios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facebook Aquila</span> Type of aircraft

The Facebook Aquila is an experimental solar-powered drone developed by Facebook for use as an atmospheric satellite, intended to act as relay stations for providing internet access to remote areas. The Aquila first flew on 28 June 2016 with a second aircraft successfully flying in 2017. Internal development of the Aquila aircraft was stopped in June 2018.

The Odysseus is a solar, High-Altitude Long Endurance drone developed by Aurora Flight Sciences.

HAPSMobile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank planning to operate High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) networks. HAPSMobile is developing the Hawk30 solar-powered unmanned aircraft for stratospheric telecommunications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BAE Systems PHASA-35</span> Type of aircraft

The BAE Systems Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA-35) is a High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by BAE Systems in collaboration with Prismatic. Designed as a cheaper alternative to satellites, the aircraft can be used for surveillance, border control, communications and disaster relief with a potential ability to stay airborne for up to 12 months. Developed in less than two years, the aircraft carried out its first flight in February 2020 and further trials are currently ongoing.

The HAL Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is an Indian unmanned and manned combat aircraft air teaming system being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The system will consist of a manned fighter aircraft acting as "mothership" of the system and a set of swarming UAVs and UCAVs governed by the mothership aircraft. A twin-seated HAL Tejas is likely to be the mothership aircraft. Various other sub components of the system are currently under development and will be jointly produced by HAL, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Newspace Research & Technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanilla UAV</span> American UAV

The Vanilla UAV is a long-endurance, low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) produced by American manufacturer Vanilla Unmanned. It has flown unrefueled over 8 days.