Skydweller Aero Inc., world leader in solar unmanned aircraft Perpetual Flight® (USA), continues autonomous maritime patrol aircraft (AMPA) flight tests of the Skydweller unmanned aerial system (UAS) with operational military payloads integrated on board .
“Skydweller is equipped with a variety of sensor systems and is conducting flight tests out of Stennis International Airport in preparation for operations through 2025,” said Dr. Robert Miller, CEO and co-founder of Skydweller Aero. “The flexibility and rugged design of our aircraft allows us to operate a range of multiple INT payload sensors throughout the winter, and we expect to conduct multi-day demonstrations in early 2025 in operationally relevant areas.”
These flights build on Skydweller Aero’s successful autonomous flight trials in the late summer and fall of 2024. Despite the Gulf Coast’s challenging weather — including two hurricanes — the company completed six flights between August 22 and September 22, four of which It was fully self-driving.
The longest missions lasted 16 and 22.5 hours respectively, demonstrating the aircraft’s operational effectiveness over land and sea environments, as well as at altitudes up to 33,000 feet. “This performance demonstrates the reliability and ease of maintenance of our platform,” added Dr. Miller.
Operating amid the height of the Atlantic hurricane season, Skydweller’s flight operations teams, weather scientists and ground support teams worked together to improve the aircraft’s autonomous capabilities, ensuring rapid response to changing weather conditions.
“Flying close to thunderstorms in Mississippi has allowed us to test and enhance our weather avoidance systems. The Skydweller’s ability to navigate in these conditions highlights its operational value, especially in the tropics during hurricane and hurricane seasons. This is a great step forward,” explained Dr. Miller. The ability to navigate around dynamic weather patterns is vital for missions that require flying in challenging environments; Avoiding sudden thunderstorms is like evading air defenses.
“Unlike many other unmanned aircraft, we are not limited to clear-sky operations in controlled environments, such as the deserts of Arizona or New Mexico, but will operate in operationally relevant theaters,” he added.
The Skydweller features rugged design, exceptional payload capacity and large power output for mission-critical systems, delivering kilowatts of continuous power to payloads. This unique combination enables the Skydweller to perform long-duration missions across diverse and challenging environmental conditions.
“The Skydweller’s capabilities have been continuously verified through rigorous flight testing, resulting in significant achievements without any safety incidents,” said Barry Matsumori, president and chief operating officer of Skydweller Aero. “Leveraging our team’s deep expertise in flexible flight, flight control systems, mission systems, and autonomy, we are developing what we believe is the world’s first operationally viable permanent flight platform – designed to meet the needs of both government and commercial markets.” “
