Skydweller Aero Can Help Defend Against Chinese Fishing Fleet Encroachments
The Wall Street Journal has revealed how Chinese fishing fleets are impacting the fishing industry of Peru and other vulnerable countries globally, threatening both local communities and national economies.
For developing nations, maritime domain awareness is vital for protecting sovereignty, sustaining economies, and supporting long-term environmental health.
Effective surveillance and response capabilities are crucial in guarding against overfishing and illegal activities within under-regulated exclusive economic zones.
Skydweller Aero is committed to advancing persistent surveillance solutions that enhance real-time situational awareness across vast maritime territories. For enforcement to be effective, agencies need photos of fishing boats with nets in the water, and the ability to identify those vessels.
Agencies need Skydweller.
Our innovations in solar-powered, autonomous aircraft empower countries to protect their resources and secure their maritime interests.
China’s Massive Fishing Fleet Overwhelms Locals in ‘David and Goliath’ Battle – WSJ
Mississippi Governor Recognizes Aerospace Industry Intern On His Social Media
“Last year, Xander McGarrity graduated from Hancock High School and landed an awesome job at Skydweller Aero! He recently represented Skydweller at his old high school to let students know about the exciting aerospace jobs in Mississippi. Thanks, Xander!”
Xander has the potential to be a great engineer in the future. We are fortunate to have him, his drive and energy working with us. This is what Skydweller Aero is about: innovative engineering, technology, and workforce development
https://x.com/tatereeves/status/1848832454502633651
Skydweller Aero Incorporated has come to an agreement with NASA Stennis Space Center to use restricted airspace for test flights.
“It was a challenge because they had a lot of different scenarios based on their requirements,” said Jason Peterson, Range Operations Manager at NASA Stennis Space Center. “They pushed the envelope so to speak, but we were able to overcome that with our team.”
With this access, Skydweller will be able to perform test flights in a controlled airspace with limited obstacles, allowing for less hiccups as they work on developments.
“This is developing technology that’s going to connect the unconnected from a digital perspective, and make the world a safer, more connected place,” said Robert Miller, CEO of Skydweller.
The aircraft Skydweller flies is different from your typical plane. This plane is manned by a remote pilot and powered by solar power, allowing for less carbon emissions and extended flight times.
“Conventional unmanned aircrafts fly for 40-80 hours tops,‘ said Miller. ”We’re talking about flying for weeks, months, so hundreds and thousands of hours we’d be in the air.”
With this agreement, the expected speed for findings should increase greatly, allowing for the newest breakthroughs in aviation technology to be found here in South Mississippi.
“This is technology that people in Silicon Valley failed at that were succeeding in in Mississippi and Oklahoma,” said Miller.
Aviation agreement to bring new tech breakthroughs to the Gulf Coast
NASA’s Stennis Space Center and Skydweller Aero enter agreement for company to operate its solar-powered autonomous aircraft in the site’s restricted airspace, a key step towards Stennis achieving a strategic goal.
NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has entered into an agreement with Skydweller Aero Inc. for the company to operate its solar-powered autonomous aircraft in the site’s restricted airspace, a key step towards achieving a strategic center goal.
The Reimbursable Space Act agreement marks the first between NASA Stennis and a commercial company to utilize the south Mississippi center’s unique capabilities to support testing and operation of uncrewed systems.
“There are few locations like NASA Stennis that offer a secure location, restricted airspace and the infrastructure to support testing and operation of various uncrewed systems,” said NASA Stennis Director John Bailey. “Range operations is a critical area of focus as we adapt to the changing aerospace and technology landscape to grow into the future.”
NASA Stennis and Skydweller Aero finalized the agreement in late August, paving the way for the company to begin area test flights of its autonomous, uncrewed solar-powered aircraft, which features a wingspan greater than a 747 jetliner and is designed for long-duration flights.
“Access to the restricted airspace above NASA Stennis has been tremendously helpful to our uncrewed, autonomous flight operations,” said Barry Matsumori, president and chief operating officer of Skydweller Aero. “The opportunity to use the controlled environment above Stennis helps accelerate our efforts, allowing us to transition the aircraft in and out of civil airspace, while demonstrating its reliability and unblemished safety record to the FAA.”
The agreement provides the company Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization for future test flights in designated areas of the NASA Stennis buffer zone. It also represents a key step in the center’s effort to grow its range operations presence.
NASA Stennis Takes Key Step in Expanding its Range Operations Work – NASA
Skydweller over NASA Stennis Space Center
Share the joy and triumph of our recently completed flight test campaign by watching this Skydweller Aero video, available here
Social Media Influencer “Papa Mississippi” is a proud Mississippian.
He is so happy that Skydweller Aero flies from Stennis International Airport in Kiln that he made this video.
Enjoy!
The Oklahoma-headquartered firm on 30 September said the Skydweller UAS successfully conducted a series of autonomous long-duration flights in recent weeks, including one sortie lasting 22h 30min and another spanning 16h.
SkyDweller Aero completes tests of ultra-long-endurance solar aircraft | News | Flight Global
The complete article can be accessed here (subscription required): Skydweller Solar-Powered UAS Completes 22.5-hr. Flight | Aviation Week Network
Excerpted from Aviation Week:
…the Sept. 22 mission demonstrated the feasibility of staying airborne for weeks to months on solar power and batteries. “The data gathered validates our model for multiday flights,” co-founder and CEO Robert Miller says.
The flights also showed the aircraft’s ability to fly in operationally relevant weather. “We’re not flying in Yuma in July. We’re flying over the Gulf Coast in hurricane season,” he says, referring to previous record-setting solar-powered UAS flights conducted over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
Autonomous flights with no pilot on board began with a 3-hr. 10-min. mission on. Sept 14. A 16-hr. 11-min. flight followed on Sept 19-20 and led up to the 22-hr. 22-min autonomous flight on Sept 21-22. The flight was cut short because of the risk of high winds from the approaching Hurricane Helene.
“We got plenty of data from the 16-hr. and 22.5-hr. flights that shows we can do perpetual flight,” Miller says. Another reason for truncating the final mission was the aircraft is flying on new, high-performance batteries, leading to concerns about performance at low voltage after powering the aircraft through the night. But the flight showed “we have more margin than we thought we had,” he says.
The longer flights also demonstrated the aircraft ’s redundancy and turnaround between missions. A circuit breaker failed early on the 16-hr. flight, but the system redundancy handled the failure correctly and the aircraft flew on for another 13 hr., Miller says. The breaker was replaced aft er landing and a day later the aircraft was launched again. “We put a new one in and it flew for 22.5 hours,” he says.
The flights also showed the aircraft ’s ability to operate in the vicinity of weather, as the 16-hr. flight was conducted with developing thunderstorms in the area. “This shows we can fly in an operationally relevant environment,” Miller says. This supports the Skydweller UAS’ use for long-duration missions from the U.S. over the Caribbean and West Africa where the Pentagon does not have forward bases.
Because of its size…the Skydweller UAS can carry heavier payloads than other solar-powered and most medium-altitude uncrewed aircraft. The aircraft is flying with two line-of-sight data links and three satellite communications systems—Iridium, Inmarsat and Skylight—with a fourth to be added. “That’s a lot of capacity,” he says.
OKLAHOMA CITY | 1 October 2024 – Skydweller Aero has successfully completed the uncrewed autonomous flight test campaign of its Skydweller Unmanned Aerial System. A series of uncrewed flight tests – with the two longest being 16 hours and 22 ½ hours – were launched from the company’s facility at Stennis International Airport in Kiln, Mississippi.
This campaign is one more step towards bringing extreme flight endurance to the world, demonstrates the feasibility of remaining airborne for weeks to months using solar energy and batteries, and is another significant milestone in the development of the Skydweller aircraft and its high reliability autonomous vehicle management system.
This campaign was initiated under a Joint Concept Technology Demonstration (JCTD) by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD R&E) and sustained by a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to evaluate Autonomous Maritime Patrol Aircraft (AMPA).
Dr. Robert Miller, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Skydweller Aero, said: “This flight test campaign is an important achievement and validates our business vision, marking a new era in autonomous aviation. Skydweller Aero is redefining what is possible in the aerospace industry, and the data gathered that validates our models for multi-day fights is a testament to our team’s dedication and innovation. We are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what uncrewed solar-powered aircraft can achieve and will continue on with our mission to bring perpetual flight to the world.”
Barry Matsumori, President & Chief Operating Officer of Skydweller Aero, said: “We have accomplished a major milestone toward demonstrating the feasibility of perpetual flight by leveraging the trillions of dollars in global research and development investment in solar energy, battery storage, and the handing and manufacturing of extremely strong, ultra lightweight carbon fiber assemblies. As these subsystems improve, we will continue to leverage them for the benefit of our customers.”
Highlights of the Flight:
- Uncrewed Autonomous Operation: At high operation tempo, the Skydweller aircraft conducted a series of long endurance flight tests demonstrating potential to perform extreme endurance missions.
- Solar-Powered Flight: Powered by solar energy, the aircraft delivers zero carbon emissions with ultra-quiet operations.
- High Reliability Autonomous Systems: The flight demonstrated uncrewed operation of Skydweller’s fully redundant autonomous systems and beyond-line-of-sight operations & communication.
About Skydweller Aero Inc.
Skydweller Aero Inc. is a pioneering transatlantic aerospace company developing a fleet of the world’s largest solar powered uncrewed aircraft capable of performing extreme endurance flights with heavy, powerful payloads. Skydweller autonomous all carbon fiber aircraft have a wingspan greater than a 747 and weigh about the same as a Ford F-150. Skydweller’s uncrewed aircraft will be used for ultra-long duration missions such as providing exclusive economic zone enforcement, monitoring naval activity, and detecting drug smugglers and pirates at sea. Skydwellers accomplish these missions with zero carbon footprint. Skydweller Aero Inc., backed by venture and private capital, has World and US headquarters in Oklahoma City and European offices headquartered in Spain. http://www.skydweller.aero
NOTE – A Digital Media Room with additional information, hi-res photos & videos is available here: Media Room
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Our friends and neighbors at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center have spotlighted our relationship on their social media channels:
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/FYcpC47Rs9zwZmtA/
✖️ X: https://x.com/NASAStennis/status/1838935871711494493
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NASAStennis/community
The Skydweller aircraft uses Stennis’s airspace when 🛫 climbing to and descending 🛬 from higher altitudes when flying between Stennis International Airport and its offshore destinations.
A big thank you to NASA for the shoutout, and for supporting Skydweller’s innovative aerospace technology!