Safety and regulation
Safe by design. Flown by the rules.
How we handle lifting gas and failures, which EU rules apply, and what we still need to prove.
Lifting gas
Helium first. Hydrogen only when authorised.
The first flights use helium. Hydrogen gives slightly more lift at a lower fill cost, and we will only introduce it after written positions from the ILT, the municipality and the test site. EASA Special Condition SC GAS (2022) is our design reference for flammable lifting gas.
The Hindenburg question
Small, unmanned, separated.
Our airships are unmanned and hold a very small gas volume. Gas cells are separated from avionics and ignition sources inside a rigid frame, and each step is tested with air and helium first.
Design specDesign safety features
What happens when something fails.
Shared thrust
Four vectoring propellers share the work. The control software redistributes thrust if one of them fails.
Geofence
The airship stays inside the approved flight area.
Link-loss failsafe
On loss of link, the airship returns or holds a safe state.
Slow descent
Buoyancy means it is designed to descend slowly rather than fall.
Safety features are verified step by step in simulation, on the bench and in flight tests, ahead of each authorisation.
EU drone rules
The X-11 regulatory route.
Under EU Regulation 2019/947 an unmanned airship is an unmanned aircraft. The X-11 flies beyond visual line of sight, in the specific category.
VLOS
Visual line of sight
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
Beyond visual line of sight
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
| X-11 · specific category | |
|---|---|
| Mass (MTOM) | 24.9 kg (open category) to 43 kg |
| Line of sight | beyond visual line of sight |
| Where | as set in the operational authorisation |
| Approval | SORA 2.5 risk assessment; operational authorisation from the national aviation authority (ILT in the Netherlands) |
| Timeline | BVLOS operations from 2028 |
We will not describe the airships as certified or approved until the authorisations exist.
What you need
- permission from the site owner
- a clear mission objective
- information about people and roads near the site
- an insurance certificate requirement, if your site has one
What we provide
- the operational authorisation and risk assessment
- airspace coordination and notices
- the remote operator and ground crew
- third-party liability insurance for our flights