More about the New Generation Airships project.

This week, the NOVA-01 unmanned airship completed another series of flight tests, during which the team continued to elaborate its key control scenarios.

One of the most important tasks was testing the autopilot system. We set various motion vectors, observing how the aircraft followed the preset position data. This is not just 'moving on course', but rather a real testing of future autonomous control algorithms. The system remembers all input data, accumulates it and gradually learns to control the aircraft more accurately and reliably.

Controllability without using a thruster was tested as well. We observed how the airship performed, reacting exclusively to the tail unit. Even in this mode, NOVA-01 confidently performed turns and corrected the trajectory of its movement, which is an excellent indicator of aerodynamic stability and design efficiency.

During the tests, the airship developed a maximum recorded speed of 44 km/h. This is not the limit, but so far a major achievement at this stage, especially considering the real weather conditions and site restrictions.

All the tests are carried out step-by-step within the framework of the flight specifications developed by the project team. Each launch is a clear plan, a lot of metrics and feedback for improving the design and software.

Overall, the tests were successful, the performance of the aircraft fully met the expectations. We obtained important data, confirmed the stability of key systems and took another step towards carrying out full-fledged autonomous flights.

To be continued. Follow our news, and the next flights of NOVA-01.

More about the project