Last week ended with the announcement of an unprecedented record setting for Zephyr, the ultra-light carbon-fiber aircraft developed by QinetiQ. The manufacturer revealed that the aircraft continuously flew for 82 hours 37 minutes at the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The previous world record for the longest unmanned flight was set by Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk in 2001, and lasted for 30 hours and 24 minutes. Unfortunately for Zephyr, this new record remains unofficial, since it does not meet all the criteria of The World Air Sports Federation.

Zephyr is now responsible for breaking the official record twice, if we consider the 54-hour flight achieved last year. Although the chances for the new record to become official still remain small, QinetiQ will continue to focus on the flight itself, rather than on setting an “official” record.

QinetiQ’s Zephyr is the world’s leading solar powered high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

During daytime flights, Zephyr relies on the solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays, which are no thicker than a sheet of paper, that cover the aircraft’s wings. Nighttime flights are powered by rechargeable lithium –sulphur batteries, developed by SION Power Inc., which recharge during the day by using solar power.

The test flight took place between July 28 and July 31in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert, at temperatures of 45 degrees C (113 degrees F). QinetiQ explained that Zephyr was flown on autopilot, as well as via satellite communications to a maximum altitude of over 60,000ft. The trial also included a military utility assessment of a US Government communications payload.

“The Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona was an appropriate setting for Zephyr’s world beating flight as many landmark aviation developments have taken place in recent years,” said Simon Bennett, Managing Director of QinetiQ’s Applied Technologies business. “In addition to setting a new unofficial record, the trial is a step towards the delivery of Zephyr’s capability for joint, real-time, battlefield persistent surveillance and communications to forces in the field at the earliest opportunity.”

Zephyr has been under the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) funding, and has also been supported by the US Department of Defense (DoD) under the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) Programme, designed to deliver much needed technologies to the US forces in the field. The trial flight was funded by the US DoD.

It is for the first time that the two governments take part in a joint demonstration of a HALE UAV. Furthermore, Zephyr is also supported by USCENTCOM, a combatant command with responsibility for Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) for Advanced Systems and the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC).

Andrew Baird, Director of Defence Technology and Innovation Center from the UK Ministry of Defence, said in a statement: “MoD is very pleased with the success of the recent trial which demonstrated the potential capability of the technologies in Zephir. This success has also reinforced the close working relationship between the UK and US on these key technologies.”