UAVOS has successfully completed a test flight of the new modification of its ApusDuo solar-powered high-altitude platform system (HAPS), which has a wingspan of 14 meters.

The reliability of HAPS increased while the aircraft’s overall structural weight decreased thanks to the modifications to the design of the main elements of the aircraft.

“UAVOS demonstrated a flight of ApusDuo aircraft with a wingspan of 9000m in August 2018,” says UAVOS CEO Aliaksei Stratsilatau.

“Following lower-altitude test flights and other preoperational activities, currently we coordinate with the Air Traffic control getting permit to perform stratospheric test flights.”

According to UAVOS, the next step in the HAPS ApusDuo project is the new prototype, with a wingspan of 28 meters, and the ability to carry eight kilograms.

Designed to serve as a stratospheric telecommunications platform, HAPS' goal is to deliver next-generation global connectivity over just about any territory, including the northern regions during the summer.

Some of the improved capabilities of the ApusDuo as a result of the modification include “improved control algorithms to reduce power consumption in horizontal flight; new highly efficient MPPT energy conversion controllers have less weight and allow to split the solar panels into small groups for more efficient use of solar energy in low and uneven lighting conditions; and take-off from a paved runway under its own power using landing gears.”