Qinetiq, a British defense and research company, has successfully landeded the Zephyr High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).  It is an ultra-light carbon fiber aircraft, flying on solar power provided by United Solar’s thin-film amorphous silicon technology.  The solar array covers the 22.5 meter wingspan of the Zephyr and is no thicker than a sheet of paper.  The Zephyr was launched on July 9th and landed on July 23, remaining airborne for a full 2 weeks, thereby shattering the official world record set by Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4A Global Hawk, which flew for 30 hours 24 minutes in March of 2001.  It also set the world record for the longest, non-stop flight without refueling.

Photos courtesy of Qinetiq

To view the Flight Duration Clock, visit http://www.qinetiq.com/global.html

To view the launch video of Zephyr, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT-DYeEP8dg

For more information on Qinetiq and Zephyr please visit http://www.qinetiq.com/home/products/zephyr.html