Record breaking Zephyr offers 24/7 cost effective military surveillance and communications

ASDNews ^ | 12/23/2010 | ASDNews

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Tracking pirates in the Gulf of Aden, detecting bush fires in Australia, and improving battlefield communications and surveillance in Afghanistan are all potential uses for the solar powered unmanned aircraft, Zephyr, which has now officially been awarded three World Records - including one for the longest flight ever by an aeroplane - two weeks - and one for altitude higher than any current surveillance aeroplane in its class. These records were achieved on the first flight of the all-new Zephyr aircraft.

Experts at QinetiQ say that because of Zephyr's unique ability to fly higher and longer than any other current aircraft, it offers enormous benefits to a number of potential customers in the military, academic, commercial and scientific arenas.

Soaring 13 miles above the ground, Zephyr can watch over a diameter of 600 miles, and has demonstrated this by sending continuous, high resolution live images back to Earth. This has a massive advantage over the intermittent, distant and expensive "snapshot per orbit" from satellites flying 100 miles above the earth. Zephyr has also demonstrated its ability to relay essential military and civil communications in remote areas between simple hand-held radios. Its persistent flight capability, soon to be months, also means that where other aircraft must eventually land, Zephyr can stay in the air for longer, providing an unrestricted view from high altitude.

[CurlyDave]

If we would use the pirate-tracking capability to engage and sink their vessels, we would soon win this game.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I agree. Put some Hellfire missiles on them

[Sparticus]

It doesn’t appear to have the payload capacity for much more than a rubber band gun. It’s basically a self propelled kite.

[Wonder Warthog]

I would think that a small zeppelin-type airship would allow more payload and longer "residence time" aloft. Since it's unmanned, it could even use hydrogen as the lift gas. Keep the solar cells for running ducted fan electric motors. Make the airframe a "lifting body" type. Use water as ballast (an thus be able to generate more H2 as required).

[bert]

[Clioman]

All the tracking capability in the world is worthless if you don’t have the willingness to kill them when and where you find them. The pirates know that, and their ransom game will go on and and on because we’re willing to pay for it...

[Oatka]

Soaring 13 miles above the ground, Zephyr can watch over a diameter of 600 miles, and has demonstrated this by sending continuous, high resolution live images back to Earth.

Use it on our Southern border and pipe the images directly on to the screens of our politicians sitting in Congress. Better yet, run the pics on a large screen displayed in public.