The USA tested a drone capable of flying for months in the stratosphere with 70 kg of cargo

The American company AeroVironment (AV) together with the US Department of Defense is developing the latest technologies to increase the duration of unmanned flights aviation systems (UAS), in particular solar-powered drones.

An important step was the creation of a modernized version of the Horus A high-altitude platform, which belongs to the HAPS class (“high-altitude platforms”). This system is capable of operating in the stratosphere for several months and can carry up to 70 kg of payload, making it a promising solution for long missions in difficult environments.

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Horus A provides stable communication and navigation thanks to a multi-level redundancy system and satellite communications beyond line of sight (BLOS). This platform has received airworthiness approval from the US Army and can be used for a variety of defense missions, including real-time data transmission. During test flights, the drone demonstrated the ability to simultaneously use several types of payload, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which confirmed its high efficiency.

Technologies based on Horus A will allow to significantly increase the effectiveness of drones in combat conditions, in particular for the coordination of swarms of drones, such as the Switchblade 600. The high level of autonomy and resistance to difficult weather conditions make these platforms extremely important for future defense operations. The AV company continues to improve its technologies, in particular, it is working on 5G integration to improve mobile communication based on Sunglider technology in cooperation with SoftBank.