The war in Ukraine has put the focus on European defence policies, and Luxembourg doesn’t want to be left out. On Tuesday, a delegation from the Ministry of Defence visited a Spanish start up to inspect an unmanned solar aircraft.
Technology from Solar Impulse
In 2015, the Swiss adventurer Bertrand Picard circumnavigated the globe in a solar-powered plane. In 2019, the Spanish start up bought his idea from the Solar Impulse foundation with the goal to develop it further. In cooperation with a large player from the defence industry, they are now working on an unmanned solar aircraft, named Skydweller, which can be used for military reconnaissance missions, among other things.
Legally the plane cannot yet fly unmanned, but there is barely anything left to do for the pilot in the cockpit. In theory, the aircraft can fly autonomously for 90 days and later transport up to 400kg, powered by 3,600 solar cells.
François Bausch signed a cooperation agreement with the Spanish company on Tuesday. Initially, the Luxembourgish contribution will allow for the plane to be moved to the Caribbean. Later on, there may also be a research cooperation, with Luxembourgish companies potentially being involved, said the defence minister.
International Cooperatioun
The US, French and Italian militaries are also involved in the project. The plane will later be controlled remotely and can be used for reconnaissance and monitoring missions. Due to its solar energy source and needing no crew, it could remain airborne indefinitely. In the civilian realm, a large telecommunications group has also expressed interest, for instance to deploy 4G and 5G over the Amazon.
