Europe-based global aerospace and defence company Airbus Defence & Space recently announced, in Australia, that it had opened the first operational launch site for its Zephyr ‘High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite’ (Haps) at the Western Australian town of Wyndham. The Zephyr is a very high (stratospheric) altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), powered by solar energy, with an average operating ceiling of 21 km (70 000 ft).

“The official opening of the Airbus Wyndham launch site in Western Australia, the world’s first operational Haps site, marks the start of a new era for the Zephyr,” highlighted Airbus Unmanned Aerial Systems head Jana Rosenmann. “We are proud to see Australia become part of the Zephyr operational network.”

“I am delighted to welcome the Airbus team and their Zephyr project to Western Australia,” enthused Western Australia State Premier Mark McGowan. “This is the culmination of almost a year of hard work by Airbus and my government to bring this exciting and innovative technology to our state. The Zephyr aircraft provides new capabilities for commercial and military customers and will bring an economic boost to the East Kimberley region.”

Wyndham was chosen as the site because it provided mainly unrestricted airspace and dependable weather. It is the most northerly town in Western Australia, lying some 2 200 km north-east of Perth. “The site is our gateway to the stratosphere and will be the main flight base for Zephyr going forward,” affirmed Rosenmann.

Airbus sees the new launch site as introducing actual operations by the Zephyr S Haps. “Zephyr is the world’s leading, solar electric, stratospheric UAV,” stated Airbus. “It harnesses the sun’s rays, running exclusively on solar power, filling a capability gap complementary to satellites, UAVs and manned aircraft to provide persistent local satellitelike services.”

The Zephyr will serve both civil and military customers. It will be able to provide observation, monitoring and communications capabilities and could potentially transform disaster management by monitoring occurrences such as oil spills or wildfires. In the surveillance role, it can provide persistent coverage. In the communications role, it can provide connectivity to areas that currently have none.

There are two versions of the Zephyr – the Zephyr S and the Zephyr T. The suffix letters indicate single-tail and twin-tail respectively. In August, a Zephyr S set a new record for long-endurance flight when it spent 25 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes in the air. That mission was flown from a location in the US state of Arizona. The Zephyr S has a wingspan of 25 m and a mass of less than 75 kg. It can carry a 5 kg payload, with which it is expected to have an operational endurance of as much as 45 days. The very high operating altitude of the UAV means that it flies not only above the weather (including clouds and jet streams) but also far above regular air traffic. During the day, it is powered by electricity generated by solar panels along its wings, while, at night, it draws its power from lithium ion batteries.

The first customer to buy the Zephyr S is the UK Ministry of Defence, which has ordered three of the Haps in a £13-million deal. They are currently being built at a new, dedicated facility at Farnborough, in England. These will be used as operational concept demonstrators, and not immediately as operational platforms. It is not known if these concept demonstrations will be flown from Wyndham or from a base in the UK

The Zephyr T is currently under development and will be a bigger aircraft. It will have a wingspan of 33 m and a total weight of 140 kg. As a result, it will be able to carry larger payloads than the Zephyr S. It is expected that these payloads will include radar, electronic support measures/electronic intelligence systems, broadband communications systems and Laser or Light Detection and Ranging (better known as Lidar) systems.