New High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Currently On Its Maiden Flight

Airbus Defense and Space has unveiled the new Zephyr S HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite) to the world at Farnborough Air Show this morning. The Zephyr S is the first production aircraft of the Zephyr program, previous Zephyr units being Research and Development prototypes.

Zephyr is a solar–electric, stratospheric Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It harnesses the sun’s rays, running exclusively on solar power, above the weather and conventional air traffic; filling a capability gap complimentary to satellites, UAVs and manned aircraft to provide affordable and persistent local satellite-like services.

Named after the late Chris Kelleher, the inventor of Zephyr, the opening of production facilities is part of a significant focus by Airbus on the Zephyr program. The Kelleher facility represents the first serial HAPS assembly line worldwide. “Today represents a significant milestone in the Zephyr program. The facility is home to the world’s leading High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite and will be a showcase location, linking to our operational flight bases around the world. The Zephyr S aircraft is demonstrably years ahead of any other comparable system and I am beyond proud of the Airbus team for their unrivalled success. Today we have created a new future for stratospheric flight”, said Dirk Hoke, Chief Executive Officer of Defense and Space.

This program milestone comes as the Zephyr aircraft is currently flying after having departed for its maiden flight from Arizona a few days ago. This flight is being supported by both the U.K. and U.S. governments and reflects the UK Ministry of Defense’s position as the first customer for this innovative and potentially game changing capability. This maiden flight of the Zephyr S aims to prove and demonstrate the aircraft capabilities, with a landing date to be confirmed once the engineering objectives have been achieved. Until today, the Zephyr aircraft has logged almost 1,000 solid hours of flying time.

Added Sophie Thomas, Head of the Zephyr program at Airbus: “Firstly, I would like to thank Defense Equipment & Support, the procurement arm of the UK MOD for their continued support of the Zephyr program. Zephyr will bring new see, sense and connect capabilities to both military and commercial customers. Zephyr will provide the potential to revolutionise disaster management, including monitoring the spread of wildfires or oil spills. It provides persistent surveillance, tracing the world’s changing environmental landscape and will be able to provide communications to the most unconnected parts of the world.”

In the future, Airbus will be flying Zephyr S from their new operating site at the Wyndham airfield in Western Australia. This has been chosen as the first launch and recovery site for the Zephyr UAV due mainly to its largely unrestricted airspace and reliable weather. The site will be operational from September 2018.

(Source: Airbus news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.airbus.com