Secret MOD drone that flies in ‘near space’ crashes during test
A SECRET drone funded by the Ministry of Defence and worth £5million has crashed during tests in a remote part of Western Australia.
The Zephyr – described as the world’s first unmanned aircraft of its kind to fly in the stratosphere – went down during test flights being conducted by Airbus, its manufacturer, on behalf of the MOD.
The drone is designed to hover at more than 65,000ft for months at a time. It can be used for surveillance or to provide a temporary boost to communications.
However, the Zephyr is the latest in a series of unmanned British military aircraft to crash during tests and reconnaissance operations.
In 2017, two multimillion-pound Army reconnaissance drones crashed into the sea, prompting commanders to temporarily ground the fleet.
Three years before that, an Army reconnaissance Watchkeeper drone was written off when it nose-dived into a runway because of a computer glitch.
It has now emerged that the Zephyr, which has an 82ft wingspan, crashed near the remote town of Wyndham, over 1,300 miles north-east of the state capital of Perth, last month.
Airbus began using the area as a base for the Zephyr in December because it has an unrestricted airspace and clear weather conditions.
The MOD said in 2016 that it was buying at least two Zephyr 8 aircraft in a £10.6 million contract. Development of the aircraft, built by Airbus Defence and Space, has been partly funded by the MOD and its design is top secret.
An MOD spokesman said: “A Zephyr aircraft trial ... was interrupted earlier
‘It certainly is a setback for Airbus because the Zephyr is a key product. It’s a very cutting-edge platform’
than planned due to adverse weather conditions. We are working hard on preparing for the next trial.”
The crash will represent a setback to Airbus and the Mod’s test programme.
Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in defence strategy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said: “It certainly is a setback for Airbus because the Zephyr is a key product. It’s a very cutting-edge platform, so these types of incidents are to be expected.” He was unable to speculate on the cause of the crash or the purpose of the flight but said the platform provided similar benefits to a satellite for a much lower cost.
He added: “It makes it possible to have an eye in the sky for months on end if necessary. Then it can be brought down and serviced. These platforms are known as ‘near space’ – it operates between 60,000ft and the beginning of outer space at 100 kilometres (62 miles) from earth. This is starting to be exploited for the first time.”
With up to 20 Airbus staff working on the project, it was sold as part of an ongoing effort to establish an emerging space industry. Rumours that Facebook was involved in the Zephyr programme have been denied.
Rear-adml James Morley, of Joint Forces Command, has previously said the Zephyr was “one of the cuttingedge technologies that we are exploring to maintain our competitive advantage in communications and surveillance”.