AeroVironment Global Observer

Global Observer GO-1
Image wanted
Type:	Tactical reconnaissance drone
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	AeroVironment
First flight:	August 5, 2010
Number of pieces:	2

The Global Observer is an unmanned aircraft produced by the US company AeroVironment .

history

The first prototype completed its maiden flight, which lasted around an hour , on August 5, 2010 at Edwards AFB . A total of three machines have been ordered for a test program by the US military. In an emergency, the machines should serve as a replacement for communications satellites in the military and be able to operate at an altitude of around 19,000 m for up to seven days. The manufacturer also offers them for civil purposes such as environmental and forest fire monitoring. Due to the lack of demand from the armed forces, the Pentagon stopped funding the project in 2013.

Incidents

On April 1, 2011, the Global Observer crashed on the ninth test flight at Edwards AFB from an unknown cause.

construction

The Global Observer is a shoulder- wing aircraft weighing around 3.5 tons with a wingspan of 53.3 m. An electric motor is used to drive the four propellers . On the first flight, batteries were used to supply energy, which were replaced on January 11, 2011 by a hydrogen- powered internal combustion engine with a connected 60 kW generator. The payload of the first prototype is given as 180 kg.

Similar planes

• Vulture (UAV)
• QinetiQ Zephyr

See also

• List of unmanned aerial vehicles

Web links

• Manufacturer website
• Image from the Global Observer (Edwards AFB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} FlugRevue October 2010, p. 16, Global Observer takes off
2. ↑ Wired.com: No One Wants the Pentagon's Gigantic Hydrogen-Powered Drone. Retrieved August 14, 2013 . 
3. ↑ Crash of UAV Prototype Stalls AeroVironment. (No longer available online.) April 2, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 4, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.