Military drives drone innovation – commercial benefits await

CyPhy Works announced today that it has received an order for its Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) System, from the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF). PARC, a tethered drone, addresses the need for a persistent eye-in-the-sky by flying for days at a time.

The news here is that the military is supporting technology that can have a significant impact on commercial drone solutions. Drones suffer from a relatively short flight time. The CyPhy PARC technology addresses that by “tethering” the drone to a power source. CyPhy Works’ PARC is a portable, tethered drone that has the ability to perform long-endurance flights, potentially lasting hundreds of hours. The tether serves as PARC’s power conduit. Communications and video also flow over its patented Kevlar-strengthened microfilament tether.

“It’s a tower-without-a-tower,” said LTC (R) Matt England, CyPhy Works Vice President for Government Systems. “We made a system that can live where the Soldier lives; tough enough to match their environment; available where they need it, when they need it; and can fly for as long as they need it.”

The benefits to delivering a drone solution that matches remote environments and can operate wherever and whenever needed is universal. As CyPhy states in their release, “Commercial applications for the PARC system include facility and event security, deploying communications equipment, and overhead inspection.”