Aurora Flight Sciences has received official notification from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) that its Orion Unmanned ...
Aurora Flight Sciences has received official notification from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) that its Orion Unmanned aircraft set the world record for duration of flight for a remotely controlled UAV.
The record was awarded based on the aircraft’s 80-hour, 2-minute and 52-second flight that took place on December 5-8, 2014.
The previous record for the same class of unmanned aircraft was just over 30 hours, set by a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk in 2001.
Orion is managed by the U.S. Air Force. The program began in 2007 when Aurora was competitively selected for the "Ultra Long Endurance" program sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). In 2009 Orion was selected as a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD). Orion made its first flight on August 23, 2013. The record attempt was the 18th flight in the test effort.
The Orion UAS was designed by Aurora in Manassas, Virginia and was built by Aurora in Columbus, Mississippi.
Pilots of record (known as Air Vehicle Operators) for the flight were Peter Lehew, Cody Allee, Joel Walker and Dave Gerhardt.
The flight was conducted at altitudes between 4,500 and 10,000 feet above Mean Sea Level. Orion landed with approximately 1700 pounds of fuel remaining, with endurance being limited by range availability.
Aurora claims the Orion can fly 120+ hours and carry a maximum payload of upto 2600 lbs. Orion also has potential strike capability with ability to carry over 1000 lbs per wing hardpoint.
