Skydweller Aero completes autonomous flight test campaign

Skydweller Aero (Oklahoma City, Okla., U.S.) announces it has successfully completed the initial uncrewed autonomous flight test campaign of its carbon fiber Skydweller unmanned aerial system (UAS). A series of uncrewed flight tests — with the two longest being 16 hours and 22 ½ hours — were launched from the company’s facility at Stennis International Airport in Kiln, Mississippi.

This campaign aims to deliver extreme flight endurance and demonstrates the feasibility of remaining airborne for weeks to months using solar energy and batteries. It is said to be a milestone in the development of the Skydweller aircraft, as well as its high-reliability autonomous vehicle management system.

This campaign was initiated under a Joint Concept Technology Demonstration (JCTD) by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD R&E) and sustained by a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to evaluate Autonomous Maritime Patrol Aircraft (AMPA).

“We have accomplished a milestone toward demonstrating the feasibility of perpetual flight by leveraging the trillions of dollars in global R&D investment in solar energy, battery storage, and the handing and manufacturing of strong, lightweight carbon fiber assemblies. As these subsystems improve, we are continuing to leverage them for the benefit of our customers,” says Barry Matsumori, president and CEO of Skydweller Aero.

According to the company, flight highlights include:

• Uncrewed autonomous operation: At high operation tempo, the Skydweller aircraft conducted a series of long endurance flight tests demonstrating potential to perform extreme endurance missions.
• Solar-powered flight: Powered by solar energy, the aircraft delivers zero carbon emissions with ultra-quiet operations.
• High-reliability autonomous systems: The flight demonstrated uncrewed operation of Skydweller’s fully redundant autonomous systems and beyond-line-of-sight operations and communication.