Zephyr solar-powered drone smashes document with 2-month-long flight

The Airbus Zephyr S, a navy reconnaissance plane, has greater than doubled the document it set in 2018 for an uncrewed flight length

Flying at some 65,000ft, the ultra-lightweight Zephyr S is uniquely capable of providing persistent surveillance or communications over the same area of land or sea for weeks at a time without landing.

The Zephyr drone flies at an altitude of 18.7 kilometres

Airbus

An uncrewed solar-powered plane has smashed its earlier flight length document by remaining aloft for 2 full calendar months – and it's nonetheless airborne.

The Zephyr S, constructed by Airbus within the UK, has photovoltaic photo voltaic panels on prime of its wings that may energy its electrical motor and recharge onboard batteries in order that it could fly all through the day and night time.

The plane, which is designed for long-term reconnaissance missions, has a wingspan of 25 metres and weighs lower than …