ApusDuo

ApusDuo is a solar-electric high-altitude aircraft programme developed by UAVOS for persistent communications, Earth observation, weather monitoring and emergency-response missions. Its tandem-wing aircraft use solar cells to charge batteries during daylight for overnight flight. The flight-control system changes the geometry of the flexible airframe to manage wing loading and cope with turbulence. The programme is now part of Mira Aerospace.

ApusDuo has progressed through several demonstrator configurations. A 2021 flight carried a six-kilogram payload to 16,500 metres, while a 2022 test ran continuously for 11 hours and reached 15,000 metres. These flights tested energy balance, propulsion, control and aerodynamic stability. Multi-month persistence in the stratosphere remains a design objective, with prototype specifications varying across the development programme.