Solar hybrid surveillance drone underway

May 27, 2009 7:28 AM PDT
Solar hybrid surveillance drone underway
by Candace Lombardi Font size Print E-mail Share Post a comment Yahoo! BuzzA hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (H-UAV) using a combination of solar power and stored electricity is being developed by Ascent Solar Technologies and Bye Aerospace, both companies announced Tuesday.

The Silent Sentinel will come our of a partnership between Ascent Solar and Bye Aerospace.

(Credit: Bye Aerospace)
Ascent Solar will be supplying flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules specifically designed for Bye Aerospace's drone, the Silent Sentinel.

Bye Aerospace will be using a Williams International FJ33 turbofan engine that will draw power from stored electrical power in a lithium-ion battery and the photovoltaic panels on the plane.

The result will be a quiet, low-emission hybrid UAV with added endurance, according to Bye Aerospace.

The Silent Sentinel is intended for military surveillance purposes, but could also be used in the commercial world for things like pipeline and power line inspection, forest fire watch, and aerial photographer, according to Bye Aerospace.

While Bye Aerospace had said it has had proposal meetings with U.S. government officials, no contract for the vehicle has yet been signed with the U.S. military.

Bye Aerospace will not be the first to combine solar panels with a drone-type aircraft. British defense contractor Qinetiq built and tested the Zephr, a 66-pound glider which managed to fly an unofficial record 54 hours straight (according to Qinetiq's own report) over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2007. In early 2008, DARPA announced it was developing the Vulture, a solar-powered aircraft that would "fly" for 5 years straight, though arguably that UAV could be considered more of a satellite in orbit.