| Zephyr | |
|---|---|
 | |
| An artist's impression of the UAV | |
| Role | high-altitude platform station Type of aircraft |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Airbus Defence and Space |
| Design group | initiallyQinetiq |
| First flight | December 2005[1] |
| Introduction | 2024[2] |
| Status | Under development |
TheZephyr is a series ofhigh-altitude platform station aircraft produced byAirbus. They were designed originally byQinetiQ, a commercial offshoot of theUK Ministry of Defence. In July 2010, the Zephyr 7 flew for 14 days. In March 2013, the project was sold toAirbus Defence and Space. In the summer of 2022, the Zephyr 8/S flew for 64 days.
Theunmanned aerial vehicles are powered bysolar cells, rechargingbatteries 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 formobile phone coverage,environmental monitoring, militaryreconnaissance or as acommunications relay.
In 2003,QinetiQ, a commercial offshoot of theUK 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 ahigh-altitude balloon at 9 km, besting theNASA Helios which had reached 29 km.[3] It was envisionned as an alternative tospace satellites, stationed permanently in thestratosphere forenvironmental monitoring,mobile phone coverage ormilitary applications.[3] TheQinetiQ 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 theWoomera Test Range in Australia, forreconnaissance or as acommunications relay.[4]
Zephyr 5 flew on flight trials at White Sands in 2005.[5]
First flew in 2006[6]. Between 28 and 31 July 2008, in a demonstration for the US military at itsYuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the Zephyr 6 flew for 82 hours and 37 minutes, an unofficial record as theFAI wasn't involved.[7]
On 23 July 2010, the Zephyr 7 took theFAI-sanctionedduration record after a 336 hours (14 days), 22 min and 8 s flight,[8] reaching 21,562 m (70,741 ft).[9] It exceeded the nine days (216 hours) of the 1986 round-the-world flight of theRutan Voyager.[10]
In March 2013, the project was sold toEADS Astrium (nowAirbus Defence and Space).[11]
In 2014 it flew for 11 days in the short days of winter whilst carrying a small payload for the British Ministry of Defence,[12] and later near civilian airspace.[13]
In February 2016, theUK Ministry of Defence purchased two Zephyr 8 planes.[14] In August 2016, a third was purchased.[15]
In 2016, a twin-tailed Zephyr T variant, providing a maritime surveillance and communications capability, was scheduled for flight testing in 2018.[16]
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.[17] By October 2021, it had flown 2,435 hours.[18]
On 15 June 2022, the Zephyr S took off inArizona, venturing for the first time into international airspace and over water.[19] 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.[20]
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]
In January 2023, the Aalto HAPS company was set up by Airbus to sell its mobile connectivity and earth observation services.[21]In June 2024, a Japanese consortium led byNTT Docomo andSpace Compass committed to invest USD$100m in AALTO to commercialise connectivity HAPS services in Asia, targeting a 2026 introduction.[22]
The 12 m (39 ft) wide aircraft had a carbon composite frame to weigh 12 kg (26 lb), and 1 kW ofsolar cells powering five motors.[3]
Thecarbon 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.[7]Amorphous silicon solar cells fromUnisolar rechargelithium-sulphur batteries fromSion Corporation with twice the energy density of the best alternative,lithium polymer batteries.[7]Launched by hand, it can reach 18 km (60,000 ft).[7]The first version had a battery capacity of 3 kW·h, driving two propellers.[23]
Zephyr 7 was larger, at 53 kg,[24] and capable of a maximum altitude between 20 and 21 km,[25] it required five ground crew to launch, as opposed to three previously for the Zephyr 6.[26]
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.[27] 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.[14]They should be able to operate year-round between40 degrees North andSouth, whilewinter operation gets more difficult at higherlatitudes.[14]
It used Ampriuslithium-ion batteries withsilicon nanowire anodes for a 435 Wh/kgspecific energy up from 300–320 Wh/kg.[28] Solar cells are high-efficiency, lightweight, and flexible invertedmetamorphic multi-junction epitaxial lift-offGaAs sheets manufactured byMicroLink Devices, with specific power exceeding 1,500 W/kg and areal powers greater than 350 W/m2.[29]
One Zephyr can replace 250cell phone towers.[30] It can be used to performintelligence, 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.[19]
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-developedOpaz optical sensor can deliver 18 cm-resolution imagery.[2]
| Model | Span | Weight | Ceiling | Endurance | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zephyr 4 | 12 m (39 ft) | 17 kg (37 lb) | 9 140 m (30 000 ft) | 6 h | |
| Zephyr 5 | 16 m (52 ft) | 31 kg (68 lb) | 11 000 m (36 000 ft) | 18 h | |
| Zephyr 6 | 18 m (59 ft) | 30 kg (66 lb) | 18 300 m (60 000 ft) | 87 h | 2 kg (4.4 lb) |
| Zephyr 7 | 22,5 m (74 ft) | 53 kg (117 lb) | 21 000 m (69 000 ft) | 336 h | 5 kg (11 lb) |
| Zephyr 8/S | 25 m (82 ft) | 62-65 kg (137-143 lb) | 23,200 m (76,100 ft)[18] | 624 h | 5 kg (11 lb) |
| Zephyr T | 32 m (105 ft) | 145 kg (320 lb) | 20 kg (44 lb) |
As of August 2022[update], three hull losses have been reported:
Absolute Record of class U (Experimental / New Technologies) for Duration
Record of class U (Experimental / New Technologies) for True altitude
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