HAWK30 Takes Flight - AeroVironment
Achieves Successful First Test Flight of Next Generation Solar HAPS Unmanned
Aircraft System
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Successful first test flight takes place less than two years after
program start
Test program to expand operating envelope with sequentially higher
and longer flights
AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV), a global leader in Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (UAS) for both defense and commercial applications, announced the
successful first flight of the HAWK30 solar HAPS unmanned aircraft system on
September 11, 2019 at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
AeroVironment partnered with SoftBank Corp (9434.T) to create HAPSMobile Inc.,
the joint venture funding HAWK30 design development and demonstration.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release
here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190916005306/en/
"The first flight of HAWK30 builds on more than two decades
of pioneering HAPS technology development and demonstration by the
AeroVironment team, and comes only two years since SoftBank joined us in this
endeavor," said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and chief executive
officer. "We are the pioneer and leader in HAPS, delivering continued
progress and demonstrated success. We look forward to achieving even greater
success in flight testing, culminating in high-altitude, long-endurance flight
demonstrations that will pave the way for the global commercialization of HAPS
technology.
"We are grateful for the expertise and support from NASA's
outstanding team at the Armstrong Flight Research Center. We are proud to add
another milestone to their storied history of aviation innovation," Nawabi
added.
Developed and assembled in AeroVironment's HAPS Innovation Center,
the HAWK30 has a wingspan of approximately 260 feet and is propelled by 10
electric motors powered by solar panels covering the surface of the wing,
resulting in zero emissions. Flying at an altitude of approximately 65,000 feet
above sea level and above the clouds, the HAWK30 is designed for continuous,
extended missions of up to months without landing.
AeroVironment seeks to create value from its unique HAPS
intellectual property and capabilities in multiple ways: participating in the
anticipated growth of the HAPSMobile joint venture as one of its two owners;
generating customer-funded research and development revenue as the exclusive
developer of solar HAPS for HAPSMobile through the design, development and
demonstration phases of the program; manufacturing and supplying HAPS UAS to
HAPSMobile; supporting and maintaining a deployed fleet of HAPS systems; and
marketing and selling HAPS UAS to non-commercial customers globally, with the
exception of Japan.
AeroVironment pioneered the concept of high-altitude solar-powered
UAS in the 1980s, and developed and demonstrated multiple systems for NASA's
Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology, or ERAST program, in the
late 1990s and early 2000s. In August 2001, the AeroVironment Helios prototype
reached an altitude of 96,863 feet, setting the world-record for sustained
horizontal flight by a winged aircraft. In 2002, the AeroVironment Pathfinder
Plus prototype performed the world's first UAS telecommunications
demonstrations at 65,000 feet by providing high-definition television (HDTV)
signals, third-generation (3G) mobile voice, video and data and high-speed
internet connectivity.
About AeroVironment, Inc.
AeroVironment (AVAV) provides customers with more actionable
intelligence so they can proceed with certainty. Based in California,
AeroVironment is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems and tactical
missile systems, and serves defense, government, and commercial customers. For
more information visit www.avinc.com.
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