Army's Solar-Powered Drone Crashes After 64 Days in the Air

The Airbus Zephyr’s ‘unexpected termination’ comes after it surpassed all known uncrewed aircraft endurance records.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at 05:23 PM ET

Verified

During the 64-day trial, the drone ascended to more than 60,000 feet before it flew a course over the southern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and South America before returning to Yuma airspace. [Courtesy: Airbus Defence]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Army's solar-powered Airbus Zephyr 8 UAS flight test concluded abruptly with a crash after a record-breaking 64 days (1,500 flight hours) in the air.
During its extended trial, the drone shattered all known unmanned aircraft endurance records, providing crucial data on energy storage, battery longevity, and solar panel efficiency.
Despite the unexpected termination, the Army considers the test successful in gathering invaluable insights for future high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, though the cause of the crash is under investigation.

See a mistake? Contact us.

A U.S. Army flight test of its solar-powered Airbus Defence Zephyr ultra-long endurance stratospheric unmanned air system (UAS) has abruptly ended with a crash, after more than two months in air.

Army Future Command’s Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space (APNT/Space) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) launched the Zephyr 8 UAS on June 15 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona to test the UAS’s energy storage capacity, battery longevity, station-keeping abilities, and solar panel efficiency as a means to boost intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.