World record: US develops drone that flies for nearly nine hours
Фото: US Army
In the United States, a battery-powered drone set a world record for flight duration during a test at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The aircraft was airborne for 8 hours, 41 minutes, 43 seconds and flew about 300 miles (482 kilometers).
This is reported by Interesting Engineering .
The record-breaking flight took place on July 15-17 during the Game of Drones 26-2 tests. The drone was equipped with 2 brushless DC motors manufactured at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania.
The previous record was exceeded by 50 minutes. The aircraft successfully landed after the flight.
The drone was designed in less than 10 minutes using software and manufactured in a mobile manufacturing container using commercial 3D printers within 24 hours. It was assembled by a team of 3 people, installing Tobyhanna motors, a battery from an industrial partner, and other components.
“AMC is proud to provide materiel solutions to support innovation across the spectrum of unmanned systems,” said Capt. Lee Washburn, spokesman for Army Materiel Command.
The US Army noted that creating its own production facilities should reduce dependence on foreign suppliers of critical components.
The US military is also ramping up production of other parts for small drones, with the hulls being made at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois and the batteries at Red River Army Depot in Texas.
“This is a huge milestone for AMC and Tobyhanna, considering we just opened a new brushless motor production line on June 30,” said AMC Advanced Manufacturing Director John Strzelec.
According to him, the Game of Drones tests demonstrated the possibility of the state and industry working together to quickly create and test new unmanned systems.
Recall that the Danish company BlueShadow has developed the Blue Dragon system, which involves using a swarm of autonomous unmanned boats to intercept Russian attack drones over the sea . The company plans to deploy the first squadron off the coast of Ukraine in the spring of 2027 after receiving certification from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
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