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

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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:

A U.S. Army flight test of its solar-powered Airbus Zephyr unmanned air system (UAS) abruptly ended with a crash after more than two months in the air.
The Zephyr 8 UAS was launched to test its energy storage, battery longevity, and solar panel efficiency for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
During its 64-day flight, the UAS accumulated 1,500 flight hours, setting new unmanned aircraft endurance records by more than doubling the previous record.
While the cause of the crash is under investigation, the Army reported gaining invaluable data and increased knowledge for advancing stratospheric UAS capabilities.

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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.