MONROVIA, Calif., 7 March 2008.AeroVironment (AV), maker of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and electric energy systems, has flown its Puma small unmanned aircraft for more than nine hours, powered by an onboard fuel cell battery hybrid energy storage system. A two-camera payload system provided a live, streaming video feed from the Puma, the largest of AV's portfolio of small unmanned aircraft systems that also includes Raven and Wasp.
This event broke the previous Puma flight record of more than seven hours. The nine-hour flight duration more than triples the duration of Puma's standard battery-only operation.
This demonstration marked a milestone in AV's Phase II small business innovation research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the development of advanced energy storage and propulsion technologies for unmanned aircraft.
AV developed the battery pack, power electronics, and controls portion of the hybrid energy storage system, which used Protonex Technology Corporation's Pulse UAV fuel cell system. Progress on this unique technology development program advanced swiftly from kickoff in January 2007, to achieve a five-hour flight in May 2007, a seven-hour flight in July 2007, and the recent nine-hour flight.
Each of AV's production small UAS can be transported and set up with a minimal logistical footprint, launched and operated by one person, and is powered by a replaceable and rechargeable battery pack.
Wasp, Raven, and Puma wirelessly transmit live, streaming video and other information generated by their electro-optical or infrared sensor payloads, enabling their operators to view and capture images on a hand-held ground control unit. Their portability and flexibility enables these systems to provide tactical units with critical information when and where they need it, facilitating faster, safer movement through urban and rural environments. To date, AV has delivered more than 8,000 small unmanned aircraft.
