Airbus said on Monday it was seeking outside investment for its high-altitude surveillance and communications drone programme Zephyr, in a bid to create a standalone telecoms and earth observation business that could start commercial operations by the end of 2024.
The company has hired Morgan Stanley to find external partnerships for the unit, which will operate under the brand name ‘Aalto,’
Samer Halawi who has been leading the programme at Airbus since last summer, told the Financial Times that the Zephyr was “now at a final design stage”. The company, he added, was “ready to monetise this aircraft” and build a “full business” around it.
Originally designed by engineers from defence group Qinetiq, the current Zephyr Z8 has a wingspan of 25m but weighs just 75kg.
The business, which will operate under the brand name “Aalto”, is already in talks with a range of commercial customers as well as potential strategic partners. It will need to raise funds to help with its commercialisation.
“Airbus is not a company that offers telecom services,” Halawi told the Financial Times. “The idea of the carve-out is to bring like-minded partners to the equation and to be able to scale this business.” Recommended Airbus SE Airbus retains crown over Boeing as world’s biggest jet maker Airbus confirmed that it had hired Morgan Stanley, adding that it planned to “maintain ownership in Aalto, where the Zephyr programme resides, but will consider outside investment to help accelerate the company’s objectives”.
The company plans to set up “Aalto ports” at 5 or 6 locations around the world, including in the US and Middle East. Zephyr already has some revenues from earlier customers, notably government customers including the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
On August 19th, the infamous solar-powered drone Zephyr was lost over Arizona, following an extended flight that had lasted for 64 days straight. It came within hours of breaking the record for the longest flight in history.
The Zephyr high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) has already flown military missions ahead of its formal entry into service, an Airbus official told Janes and other defence media on 12 December.
Speaking at the annual Airbus Trade Media Briefing (TMB) in Madrid, Samer Halawi, CEO Airbus HAPS Connectivity Solutions, said the company had begun flying contractor-supplied missions of the solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), ahead of it being formally introduced into service in 2024.
The company currently has ten aircraft at its site in Farnborough in the UK.
Source: euronews.next