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	<title>sUAS News &#187; QinetiQ</title>
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	<link>http://www.suasnews.com</link>
	<description>Small unmanned aviation system industry news for professionals • Drones, UAS, nUAS, pUAS and more...</description>
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		<title>Zephyr: the new standard for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2011/06/5837/zephyr-the-new-standard-for-unmanned-aerial-vehicles/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2011/06/5837/zephyr-the-new-standard-for-unmanned-aerial-vehicles/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:41:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Saltmarsh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=5837</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Zephyr is a high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that can support payloads for surveillance or communications. It therefore provides a cost effective and persistent capability to collect or disseminate high quality data across wide areas. Zephyr is pushing the boundaries of unmanned flight – and in more ways than one. In July 2010 it secured a place in history by smashing the world record for the longest duration unmanned flight, flying for 14 days and 21 minutes and reaching an altitude of over 70,000 feet. This record promises to be the first of many because Zephyr has the potential for uninterrupted flights lasting several months. Zephyr’s extraordinary in-flight endurance derives from several pioneering design developments: Solar panels power the aircraft during the day and charge its lithium-sulphur batteries for night flying A unique propeller design gives the aircraft a high power-to-weight ratio The wing design maximises the use of thermal air currents to lift the aircraft to high altitudes Ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre construction means it weighs around 30kg A QinetiQ-developed bespoke autopilot navigates between waypoints, removing the need for permanent manual operation Silent in flight, environmentally friendly and launched by hand with no complicated launching mechanisms, Zephyr [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Newcastle University secures contract for SolarEagle</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2011/03/4335/newcastle-university-secures-contract-to-for-solareagle/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2011/03/4335/newcastle-university-secures-contract-to-for-solareagle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:12:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Smith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar eagle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=4335</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A SOLAR-POWERED plane which can fly continuously for five years may seem like a flight of fancy. But a Newcastle University team has the job of turning the vision into reality. Led by Professor Barrie Mecrow, the team has secured a major contract with leading defence technology and security company QinetiQ to help create the US-based Boeing SolarEagle. Joint funded by the US Government and Boeing, SolarEagle will be a 120-metre wing span, unmanned plane able to remain in the air for five years, feeding back data from the skies. It is the job of the Newcastle University team to develop a motor that will be four times more efficient than a conventional aircraft engine while being able to operate at temperatures lower than the coldest Arctic winter. Prof Mecrow, head of the university’s Centre for Advanced Electrical Drives, said: “This plane will have the longest wingspan ever – the only thing that comes close is the Airbus A380 with a wingspan of around 75m. This is more than half as big again – more than the length of a football pitch. “Newcastle University has a long-standing reputation for its world-leading research into the design and development of specialist motors [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>QinetiQ Zephyr records ratified</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/12/3111/qinetiq-zephyr-records-ratified/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/12/3111/qinetiq-zephyr-records-ratified/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:42:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=3111</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well done to the team from Boscombe the FAI have ratified three records. The flight lasted 10 times longer than the previous duration record held by the RQ 4A  Global Hawk. the absolute duration record for an Unmanned Air Vehicle – being filed at 336 hrs / 22 minutes the duration record for a UAV (in the U/1.c / 50-500Kg category) – time as above the absolute altitude record for a UAV (in the above category) – being filed at 70,740ft (21,561m) Launched by hand, the aircraft flies by day on solar power delivered by amorphous silicon solar arrays that cover the aircraft&#8217;s wings and are no thicker than sheets of paper. These are supplied by Uni-Solar, the world’s largest producer of flexible solar panels. The solar arrays are also used to recharge the lithium-sulfur batteries that are used to power the aircraft by night and supplied by Sion Power Inc, a leading developer of the next high energy rechargeable battery technology. Together they provide an extremely high power to weight ratio on a continuous day/night cycle, thereby delivering persistent on station capabilities. Around 50% larger than the previous version, Zephyr incorporates an entirely new wing design with a total wingspan of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Boeing Solar Eagle wins $89m from DARPA</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/09/1511/boeing-solar-eagle-wins-89m-from-darpa/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/09/1511/boeing-solar-eagle-wins-89m-from-darpa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:01:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boeing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DARPA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar eagle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=1511</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Boeing has announced that it has won funding to the tune of $89 million from DARPA to develop its Solar Eagle UAV. Solar power is a hot topic, no pun intended.  QinetiQs Zephyr flew for 14 days and 22 hours earlier this year. Sources have told us that it could have gone much longer. Boeing was chosen over an offering from Lockeed Martin skunk works. The Boeing Solar Eagle  will have highly efficient electric motors and propellers and a high-aspect-ratio, 400-foot wing. Under the DARPA Vulture II agreement, Boeing’s Phantom Works division will develop a flight demonstrator, including  the critical power system and structures technologies developed by  QinetiQ. Quite why it needs to be able to lift 1000lbs with a payload of 5KW is not yet revealed. Testing of the sensor and camera systems could start tomorrow. Making sensors that could operate for five years in a cold and harsh environment will be quite a task in itself. As they plan to fly a near full scale demonstrator for a month as early as 2014 they have not quite left themselves enough time to find out! Set your alarm clocks for at least 2018 for the real deal. Perhaps the Zephyr will [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fire Shadow loitering munition</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/09/1519/fire-shadow-loitering-munition/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/09/1519/fire-shadow-loitering-munition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:17:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bluebear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Firescout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=1519</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Blurring the borders between missile and UAS this airframe aims to hurry up and wait for something to happen. Expect to see lots of these making news in 2011. Many of the primary players  involved are all based close to each other in Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire is the UKs area 51 really in the Chilterns? The Fire Shadow is a low cost, all-weather, 24-hour available, loitering munition intended to meet the United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces requirement for a weapon system capable of engaging elusive and time sensitive surface targets. This requirement is known in the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) as the IFPA (Indirect Fire Precision Attack) loitering munition system. Fire Shadow weapon system is being proposed by Team LM led by MBDA and comprises Blue Bear Systems Research, Cranfield Aerospace, Cranfield University, Lockheed Martin UK INSYS, Marshalls SV, Meggitt, QinetiQ, Roxel, Selex SAS, Thales UK, Ultra Electronics and VEGA. The IFPA loitering munition system assessment phase is due to commenced in 2008 with the resulting weapon system achieving initial operational capability by 2012. Fire Shadow could be launched over a battle zone, loiter for several hours and then rapidly strike a suitable target when it appears while still conforming to [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Zephyr launch and landing video.</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/08/1406/zephyr-launch-and-landing-video/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/08/1406/zephyr-launch-and-landing-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:09:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HALE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=1406</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[QinetiQ has filed for three world records for Zephyr, its solar powered high-altitude long endurance (HALE) Unmanned Air System (UAS), with the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), subject to ratification for achieving: Absolute duration record for an Unmanned Air Vehicle – being filed at 336 hrs / 22 minutes Duration record for a UAV (in the U/1.c / 50-500Kg category) – time as above Absolute altitude record for a UAV (in the above category) – being filed at 70,740ft (21,561m) Zephyr was launched at 06:41 (MST) on 09 July 2010 and stayed aloft for 14 nights (336 hrs / 22 minutes) above the US Army&#8217;s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, before being brought safely back to earth on the morning of 23 July having achieving all the objectives of the trial. An official from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the world air sports federation, monitored every aspect of Zephyr’s progress at the Yuma Proving Ground from launch to safe landing. “We now await official FAI confirmation that we have met all necessary criteria,” stated Jon Saltmarsh, Zephyr Programme Director. “This is a tremendous achievement, earning Zephyr a well deserved place in the record books and setting a significant milestone in aviation [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Global Observer wing check</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/08/524/global-observer-wing-check/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/08/524/global-observer-wing-check/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:56:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AeroVironment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global observer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HALE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=524</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Key Milestone Achieved in Development and Testing of First Unmanned Aircraft System to Offer Seamless Persistence Without Latitude Restrictions MONROVIA, Calif. – Aug. 11, 2010 – AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ:AVAV) announced that a full size wing developed as part of the Global Observer™ Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program has successfully completed a series of Wing Load Tests (WLT) in support of the Global Observer flight test program. The joint Department of Defense, NASA and AV team successfully performed the tests at the Flight Loads Laboratory located at NASA&#8217;s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) in California. The team designed and built a specialized test fixture to apply loads to the modular, all-composite 175-foot Global Observer wing. The test validates the quality of AV’s design, its analysis of flexible and lightweight structures and the resulting design tradeoffs made to maximize wing strength while minimizing weight &#8212; a critical balance in achieving reliable flight endurance. Global Observer is designed to be the first unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide robust, cost-effective and persistent communications and surveillance over any location, without latitude restrictions. The Global Observer JCTD program is sponsored by six U.S. government agencies that have provided [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>After 14 Nights in the Air, QinetiQ Prepares to Land its Zephyr Solar Powered Unmanned Aircraft</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/470/after-14-nights-in-the-air-qinetiq-prepares-to-land-its-zephyr-solar-powered-unmanned-aircraft/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/470/after-14-nights-in-the-air-qinetiq-prepares-to-land-its-zephyr-solar-powered-unmanned-aircraft/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:29:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=470</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[QinetiQ will today bring Zephyr, its solar powered high-altitude long endurance (HALE) Unmmaned Aerial System (UAS) back to earth after two weeks in the air &#8211; smashing a number of long-standing official and unofficial world records. Zephyr was launched on 09 July and is currently still flying above the US Army&#8217;s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Today Zephyr will have been aloft for 14 nights continuously, achieving the objective of the trial and setting a number of performance and altitude records. At this point QinetiQ&#8217;s Zephyr team in Yuma will bring the aircraft back to earth. An official from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) (http://www.fai.org/), the world air sports federation, has been monitoring progress at the Yuma Proving Ground and when Zephyr is back on the ground he looks set to be able to confirm a number of new world records. This includes quadrupling its own unofficial world record for longest duration unmanned flight (82 hours, 37 minutes set in 2008) and surpassing the current official world record for the longest flight for an unmanned air system (set at 30 hours 24 minutes by Northrop Grumman&#8217;s RQ-4A Global Hawk on 22 March 2001). Zephyr will also have flown longer, non-stop [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Will the Zephyr land on Friday?</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/464/will-the-zephyr-land-on-friday/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/464/will-the-zephyr-land-on-friday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:18:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=464</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Zephyr is now on day 12 of its mission and flying well. I&#8217;m no expert on the subject but I do know they need pretty calm conditions for the landing. A quick look at the forecast for Yuma on Friday morning, the two week point, shows a touch of wind and calming. From Monday the surface winds are picking up again, so if they don&#8217;t get safely on the ground over the weekend will they have enough power to fly until better weather arrives?? Would be a great shame if such an historic flight came to a sticky end. No doubt a safe landing during Farnborough 2010 with the worlds press in attendance and wanting to talk aviation would do Qinetiq no end of good! Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d464').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) });]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Zephyr</title>
		<link>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/451/zephyr/</link>
		<comments>http://www.suasnews.com/2010/07/451/zephyr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:56:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gary Mortimer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QinetiQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zephyr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.suasnews.com/?p=451</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You heard it here first!!! Well we thought you might hear something soon. The Zephyr has smashed its previous record and at this time been in the air for 7 days and 2 hours and 12 minutes. The craft took off at 1440 BST (0640) local time from the US Army&#8217;s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona last Friday, the 9th of July. This means that on the first public day at Farnborough 2010, next Friday the craft will have been in the air for two weeks. Congratulations to the team from Boscombe Down, lets hope they found some room for some real ale in the luggage that went over with them. Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d451').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) });]]></description>
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