FARNBOROUGH (AFP) – European air giant Airbus yesterday unveiled a solar-powered drone called Zephyr that will fly at a high altitude and fulfil the same functions as a satellite.
The project was presented at Britain’s Farnborough airshow, where Airbus revealed that the Zephyr S took off on July 11 for its maiden flight from Arizona in the United States.
“This maiden flight of the Zephyr S aims to prove and demonstrate the aircraft capabilities,” Airbus said in a statement.
The High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) has a wingspan of 25 metres (82 feet) and weighs less than 25 kilogrammes (55 pounds).
It can fly at an altitude of 21,000 metres above the weather and conventional air traffic.
Another model planned, the Zephyr T, would have a wingspan of 33 metres.
“The only civil aircraft that used to fly at the altitude was Concorde,” as well as the military reconnaissance U2 and SR-71 Blackbird planes, Airbus said.
The plan is for the drones to fly for three months in the stratosphere, with a descent that would last around 30 hours.
