Jay Clemens
Airbus Defense and Space has received an order for two Zephyr 8 pseudo-satellites from the U.K. Defense Ministry to help provide land and sea surveillance to the client.
The solar-powered Zephyr 8 high-altitude craft operates as guided by a ground controller in order to deliver surveillance, hosting communications links support, Airbus said Thursday.
Airbus Defense currently constructs the first Zephyr 8 at its Farnborough, U.K.-based facility and is scheduled for flight in mid-2017.
Zephyr is built for applications such as humanitarian missions, precision farming, environmental and security monitoring, and Internet services.
