- News
26 May 2014
Ascent Solar's CIGS PV modules take flight on Silent Falcon UAV
Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA, together with Silent Falcon UAS Technologies (SFUAS) of Albuquerque, NM, USA, has announced the successful first flights of the production Silent Falcon Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), which is powered by Ascent Solar’s lightweight, flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic modules.
Jointly developed by SFUAS (which was established in 2010), Ascent Solar and Bye Aerospace Inc of Englewood, near Denver, CO (which was founded in 2007 to apply clean-energy solutions to aircraft designs), the Silent Falcon UAS is a tactical drone that integrates proprietary technology and is designed to be easily deployed. The patent-pending solar/electric powered all-composite and modular small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) is equipped with an interchangeable wing configuration designed for commercial, public safety and defense applications both domestically and internationally. The combination of efficient aerodynamic design, lightweight composite construction and Ascent’s monolithically integrated and lightweight thin film PV modules gives the 25lb Silent Falcon UAS a 6-12 hour flight endurance.
“These first flights represent the culmination of tremendous collaboration between Ascent Solar, Bye Aerospace, and Silent Falcon UAS,” says chief technology officer Dr Joseph Armstrong. “Overcoming technological challenges, our teams have demonstrated the ability to integrate our flexible photovoltaics with appropriate power management systems into a feature-rich small unmanned aircraft system enabling extended mission flight time and, as a result, enhanced mission flexibility. More importantly, the photovoltaic modules integrated into the wings represent a lightweight version of our production materials, and as such, are immediately available.”
“The Silent Falcon’s unprecedented performance and value is ready for the market place as we transitioned from prototype and commenced low rate initial production,” says SFUAS’s president John Brown. “Our sales teams are targeting domestic, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region.”
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