Solar-powered internet plane could be built in the North West

Airbus' unmanned aircraft could be manufactured in their Broughton factory

Author: Alex UsherPublished 11th Oct 2021
Last updated 11th Oct 2021

Airbus' Broughton factory could begin to manufacture their solar-powered aircraft which could bring the internet to some of the billions of unconnected people around the world.

Despite only completing an 18 day flight, there are ambitions that the Zephyr, which resembles an unmanned glider but with two small propellers, could soon be spending around six months in the air at a time.

When airborne, the Zephyr lives in the stratosphere and flies higher than planes but lower than satellites.

What does it do?

One Zephyr has the coverage equivalent to that of 250 cell towers, which will help the estimated four billion unconnected people from around the globe gain access to the internet.

In addition to providing internet access, the Zephyr could also have military use as it is able to produce high resolution imagery and video capture for intelligence gathering, and can detect changes in the environment.

The solar-powered UAS will be more environmentally friendly and cheaper than a regular satellite, and it is able to be landed and repurposed for different missions.

The Zephyr can also have military uses, and the second of the two flights was done for the UK's Ministry of Defence. The company is also pitching it for use in disaster zones, and other areas where real-time information is needed.

What are the next steps for the aircraft?

Jana Rosenmann, head of unmanned aerial systems at Airbus, said: "We have ambitions to be going for periods of months, up to six months," she told the PA news agency.

"Our batteries are really performing extremely well. I think we're confident right now about (reaching) three months and I would say that going for six months on this air vehicle would not be a problem

"Have we proved that operationally? No, not yet. But all the steps we have been doing in our lab tests are clearly indicating that we are on a very good path."

She added: "I think it's got a huge potential to reach people that traditionally you're not going to reach with fibre (broadband), there really isn't a limit to it.

"There isn't really a limit to reaching the unconnected population today, which is a vast community."

The aerospace manufacturer has already run its first test flights in civilian airspace, clocking up a total of 36 days in the air across just two flights.

According to Unicef data from 2020, two-thirds of school-age children around the world, around 1.3 billion people, do not have internet connections in their homes.

This is preventing them from competing in the modern economy and isolating them from the world, Unicef said.

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