X-11 · 11 m · BVLOS
The X-11 is a rigid-frame unmanned airship designed to stay airborne for 10+ hours, linked by 5G and satellite, positioned by Galileo and flying its missions automatically.
Programme in progressDesign specifications of the X-11, verified step by step in our test programme.
A carbon anisogrid frame, not a soft envelope. The hull holds its shape in wind, so the sensor platform stays steady and the data stays sharp.
Designed for the lightest lifting gas, with physical separation between gas cells and avionics. First flights use helium; hydrogen follows only with authorisation. How we approach hydrogen
Hours over the corridor, not minutes. Endurance turns a single pass into continuous, comparable inspection data.
The gap
Grid lines, pipelines, dikes and rail corridors run for hundreds of kilometres. Today they are inspected in short sorties or by crewed helicopters.
A typical inspection drone flies about 45 minutes per battery. A long corridor becomes many short sorties, battery swaps and van moves.
Small drones stay within sight of the pilot and have no mass budget for a satellite terminal.
Rotors are loud, and their downwash mixes the air that gas and air-quality sensors need to measure.
Research on drone noise annoyance (Christian and Cabell, 2017)Drones remain the right tool for short spot inspections. We build the airship as a partner platform for inspection operators on long routes.
The airship
The X-11 combines a rigid carbon lattice frame, vectored-thrust propulsion and our own flight software in one platform for missions beyond visual line of sight.
AI concept visual11 m · BVLOS
The X-11 is designed to stay on station for a full working day, carry up to 15 kg of sensors, and fly its missions automatically beyond visual line of sight.
Design specifications · What does BVLOS mean?
VLOS and BVLOS
VLOS
The remote operator keeps the aircraft in direct view, without binoculars, and flies it within a few hundred metres. In the EU open category no operational authorisation is needed.
Short-range work, typical of small inspection drones
BVLOS
The airship flies further than the operator can see. It follows its planned route with the autopilot and Galileo positioning. Control runs over radio and 5G, with a satellite link as back-up, under a specific-category authorisation from the aviation authority.
X-11 · long corridors, hours on station
How a mission works
Define the route or site, the sensors and the time on station. Weather and airspace are checked in planning.
One or two people launch from a mobile mooring mast. No runway is needed.
The airship flies the planned waypoints and holds station, inside a geofence and with failsafes.
Sensor data and status stream over radio and 5G, with the satellite link as back-up where coverage drops.
The airship returns to the mast. Data is delivered in formats your GIS team already uses.
Automatic mission execution and the satellite link are part of the current development and test programme.
Applications
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AI concept visualApplication images are AI concept visuals, for illustration only.
Technology
A lattice of helical and hoop ribs holds the hull shape at any fill level. It splits into modules that travel on a trailer.
SimulatedFour propellers on rotating carbon tubes point their thrust forward, up or down, so the airship can climb, descend and hold position quietly.
Bench-testedRadio and 5G links with a satellite back-up, Galileo HAS and OSNMA for precise and authenticated position, and satellite weather data in planning.
Design specProgramme progress
Airframe, propulsion and flight software are in test. Next up: the sub-scale flight tests, then the X-11 build.
Questions
Rigid-frame unmanned airships that carry sensors for long inspection and observation missions. Our airship, the X-11, is designed for missions of 10+ hours beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
It describes the goal: a sensor platform that stays over a route or site for as long as the job needs, instead of landing every 45 minutes to swap batteries. The X-11 is specified for 10+ hours; round-the-clock persistence is where the platform is heading.
VLOS means visual line of sight: the remote operator keeps the airship in direct view, without binoculars, and flies it within a few hundred metres. BVLOS means beyond visual line of sight: the airship flies further than the operator can see, following its planned route with the autopilot, precise positioning and a data link, under an authorisation from the aviation authority. The X-11 is built for BVLOS missions along long corridors.
Buoyancy carries the weight, so the energy goes into moving rather than staying up. That allows hours on station with low noise and almost no downwash. Drones remain the better tool for short spot inspections. Satellites cover large areas with less detail and fixed revisit times. Helicopters are fast but crewed, loud and expensive per hour.
The X-11 is specified for 10+ hours on station. We publish measured values as the flight-test programme progresses.
Our airships are unmanned and hold a very small gas volume compared with the passenger airships of the past. The design separates the gas cells from avionics and ignition sources inside a rigid frame, and every step is tested with air and helium before any hydrogen flight. EASA Special Condition SC GAS (2022) is our design reference for flammable lifting gas.
Non-binding. For organisations. About 3 minutes.
