Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
Puma AE Small Unmanned Aircraft Achieves Continuous Flight for More Than Nine Hours
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 21, 2013


Puma AE is a flexible, efficient and rugged hand-launched workhorse for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).

AeroVironment has announced that a recent outdoor test flight of a solar-powered prototype version of the company's proven Puma AE small unmanned aircraft system (UAS), operating with the company's newest long-endurance battery, lasted 9 hours, 11 minutes - significantly longer than the flight endurance of small UAS being used in the field today.

AeroVironment is working with Alta Devices, a Sunnyvale, Calif. company that provides flexible, portable power that can be embedded into any other material, in the development of the solar Puma AE.

"This is a critical milestone with far-reaching implications for the many ways small UAS can benefit military, public safety and commercial customers," said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). "The solar Puma AE is the latest example of AeroVironment's longstanding commitment to deliver important, innovative solutions that meet our customers' needs.

"Our integration of this cutting-edge technology dramatically increases Puma's current flight endurance using a clean, renewable power source," Minson added, "this development can give Puma AE customers significantly increased capabilities that approach those of the next class of UAS at a much lower acquisition and operating cost, and with much greater operational flexibility." AeroVironment's new long endurance battery extends Puma AE's non-solar endurance to more than three hours. This means small UAS could be used for longer missions over greater distances than previously possible.

Minson added that past solar solutions for powering small UAS were either too heavy or did not produce enough power for long-range flight - or both. "However," he said, "the solar Puma AE technology can produce enough power, while adding negligible weight, so that endurance is no longer an issue for most customer missions."

Using a proprietary and highly differentiated technology, Alta Devices manufactures the world's thinnest and highest efficiency solar cells using Gallium Arsenide. This technology significantly extends the battery life of any application, in many cases eliminating the need to recharge from the grid because it converts more light into electricity.

Solar material like that used in the development of the solar Puma AE incorporates a thin, mobile power technology on a flexible substrate that has been independently certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as world-records for both single (28.8%) and dual (30.8%) junction solar cells.

Puma AE is a flexible, efficient and rugged hand-launched workhorse for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). This solar-power enhancement makes it even more indispensible for U.S. and allied military, as well as for domestic public safety applications, such as firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, oil and gas field monitoring, and other commercial needs.

The solar Puma AE configuration currently is in the research and development phase. A production version is planned for early 2014.

The 13-pound Puma AE is fully waterproof, man-portable and can be assembled in minutes, hand-launched, operated and recovered on sea or land by a team of two people. It requires no infrastructure, such as runways, launching pads or recovery devices. In addition, the system is quiet and operates autonomously, providing persistent observation data.

Last month, AeroVironment received a "Restricted Category" rating for its Puma AE small UAS from the Federal Aviation Administration. The first-of-its-kind certificate permits operators to fly Puma AE for commercial missions in regions of the Arctic.

.


Related Links
AeroVironment
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
US Air Force lacks volunteers to operate drones
Washington, DC (AFP) Aug 20, 2013
The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study. Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone operators face a lack of opportunities for promotion to higher ranks and the military has failed to identify and cultivate this new category of aviators, Air F ... read more


UAV NEWS
NASA Selects Launch Services Contract for OSIRIS-REx Mission

Environmental Controls Move Beyond Earth

Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame

Moon Base and Beyond

UAV NEWS
Snapping Pictures of the Martian Moons

Mars Rover Opportunity Working at Edge of 'Solander'

MRO Swapping Motion-Sensing Units

Opportunity Reaches Base of 'Solander Point'

UAV NEWS
Next Generation of Explorers Takes the Stage

Has Voyager 1 Left The Solar System?

Groundbreaking space exploration research at UH

Test at Naval Station Proves Recovery Operations for Orion

UAV NEWS
China launches three experimental satellites

Medical quarantine over for Shenzhou-10 astronauts

China's astronauts ready for longer missions

Chinese probe reaches record height in space travel

UAV NEWS
Italian astronaut recounts spacewalk drowning terror

ISS Boosting Biological Research in Orbit

Japanese Cargo Craft Captured, Berthed to ISS

Japanese Cargo Spacecraft Docks with ISS

UAV NEWS
ISRO pins hopes on GSLV-D5

Lockheed Martin Selects CubeSat Integrators for Athena to Enhance Launch Systems Integration

Russia to resume Proton-M rocket launches in mid-September

Roscosmos denies plans to launch Proton rocket from Baikonur on Sept 15

UAV NEWS
Study: Planets might be 'born free' without a parent star

Distant planet sets speed record by orbiting its star every 8.5 hours

Kepler planet hunter spacecraft is beyond repair: NASA

Astronomers Image Lowest-mass Exoplanet Around a Sun-like Star

UAV NEWS
Earliest known iron artifacts come from outer space

ORNL finding goes beyond surface of oxide films

Boeing Thin Disk Laser Exceeds Performance Requirements During Testing

Poisoning corrosion brings stainless magnesium closer




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement