A small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), produced with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), recently completed an endurance flight of approximately 56 hours and landed with half its fuel still on board, suggesting the aircraft is capable of setting additional records for powered flight in its weight and power class.
UAV technology is becoming increasingly more important for the military, bringing extra communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to soldiers and commanders in the field. Contemporary UAV technology requires constant refueling and is limited by its range and flight endurance. Vanilla’s propeller-driven VA001 UAV is designed to carry up to 30 pounds at 15,000 feet for a flight endurance of up to 10 days without refueling.
A representative from the National Aeronautic Association certified the flight as achieving the world duration record for combustion-powered UAVs in the 50kg-500kg subclass. It was also the fourth-longest flight for any unmanned airplane and the 11th longest for an airplane of any type.
“This record-breaking flight demonstrated the feasibility of designing a low-cost UAV able to take off from one side of a continent, fly to the other, perform its duties for a week, and come back—all on the same tank of fuel,” DARPA Program Manager Jean-Charles Ledé said. “This capability would help extend the footprint of small units by providing scalable, persistent UAV-based communications and ISR coverage without forward basing, thereby reducing personnel and operating costs. We’re very pleased with what the Vanilla team has accomplished.”
The combustion-powered UAV, manufactured by Vanilla Aircraft of Falls Church, Virginia, began its flight on Nov. 30 at New Mexico State University’s Unmanned Air Systems Flight Test Center near Las Cruces International Airport. The UAV flew for more than two days and two nights at an altitude between 6,500 and 7,500 feet above sea level while averaging 57 knots.