Test Flight in Milan Bears Out the Utility of Zeppelins Once Again

H3 Dynamics and French airship developer HyLight have joined hands to create long range, sustainable and quiet uncrewed airships. 

Until now, the type has almost exclusively used traditional combustion engines for propulsion, a change right up H3 Dynamics' wheelhouse. With their hydrogen-powered systems, the brand hopes that HyLight's new breed of airships will provide operators with a long-range, zero emissions option for commercial flight.

HyLight and H3 Dynamics began their joint work earlier this year, waiting until their first successful hydrogen-electric flight test campaign to successfully wrap before announcing the partnership. The test flight in Milan, Italy was a feather in the cap for HyLight, making them one of the only real-world, hydrogen aircraft flights taking place on the continent.

Their uncrewed airships are slow, and less than maneuverable, but buoyant for days at a time, requiring little energy expenditure to stay aloft. While airships in passenger service are little more than a novelty, HyLight believes they're perfectly suited to a range of commercial operations, thanks to the low-cost, long-range, and high-payload compared to common enterprise UAVs. For missions like distant line inspections, aerial survey, border patrol, or communications relays, a hydrogen-powered airship could be just the ticket.

FMI: www.hylight.aero, www.h3dynamics.com