During a series of customer demonstration flights for a South American potential customer in January 2008, the Orbiter mini UAV, developed and manufactured by Aeronautics, was launched from an altitude of 13,700 ft above sea level and, within 10 minutes, reached the impressive altitude of 18,050 ft., thus breaking the previous world record, which stood at 15,000 ft. The flight exceeded one hour in duration, and was performed in winds of more than 30 knots.
The Orbiter's two-meter flying-wing design and powerful electric motor provides this high level ISR gathering platform with unique flight characteristics in terms of flight speed variation (25-75 knots), operational altitude, and the ability to fly in harsh weather conditions.
During other flights in the demonstration series, The Orbiter mini UAV system performed day and night missions, in cooperation with soldiers and vehicles from of the potential customer's land forces. In addition, two Orbiters were flown simultaneously from one Portable Ground Control Station, to demonstrate another unique capability of the Orbiter system.
Seven other international customers have acquired the Orbiter system since its market debut two years ago, despite competition from other leading UAV manufacturers. During 2007 the Orbiter won all international tenders in which it participated proving to be the most mature high-performance Mini UAV in the world.
.jpg "Orbiter Mini UAV at 14k ft before launch")
