Increased Endurance and Reduced Cost
RT LTA Systems of Yavne, Israel announced on 11 July it has completed development of a new, improved lightweight and ultra-violet resistant elastic material for aerostat bladders. Having completed six months of rigorous field testing after 18 months research and development, the new material will be used from now on in the company’s range of SkyStar aerostats, allowing them to fly continuously for up to 150 hours and reducing costs through better management of helium leakage.
In parallel with the new material development, the company has also perfected a new helium recycling system that will allow savings of up to 90% of the aerostat’s helium volume in specific circumstances. The new developments provide operators – particularly those using aerostats from fixed sites over extended periods – to generate significant savings in operational costs. SkyStar aerostats are self-contained, versatile and easily transportable tactical systems, ideal for defence, border security and public safety applications. Operators have already accumulated over 1.5 million operational hours worldwide.
“The extension of the systems’ endurance is of high importance for our defence and [homeland security] customers, which are using RT’s aerostats for operational needs. The lower operational costs allow us and our clients to invest more resources in developing new and sophisticated payloads to be carried by the aerostats. Altogether, we are happy to offer … even more cost-effective aerostat systems with high abilities and an extended endurance,” commented RT CEO Rami Shmueli.