Tethered drone system

What is a tethered drone system?

It is a drone that stays connected to the ground by a cable that supplies its power, so it can hold station far longer than a battery drone. Ours is a 21 kg quad co-axial aircraft that holds station for 12 hours continuously on a 120 m powered tether, carries a 2 to 5 kg payload, and lands itself if the tether power ever drops.

See: How it compares to Elistair and Hoverfly, Persistent surveillance in the fleet

How long can a tethered drone stay in the air?

Ours holds station for 12 hours continuously on tether power. Endurance claims across this market vary widely because they are measured differently: Elistair states 50 hours, Fotokite states 24 hours while the vehicle runs, and Hoverfly states hours to weeks. A tethered aircraft on ground power flies as long as the power holds, so the real limits are maintenance intervals, thermal duty and weather rather than a battery.

See: Endurance figures compared

How high does the tethered drone fly?

It flies on a 120 m extendable powered tether, which reaches higher than the Elistair Orion's 100 m, the Fotokite Sigma's 45 m and the Hoverfly Spectre's 60 m. For line-of-sight surveillance, sensor height is often worth more than extra hours aloft, because a higher camera sees over terrain and buildings that a lower one cannot.

See: Tether and altitude compared

What camera does the tethered drone carry?

The standard EO/IR gimbal streams a 30x full-HD day channel and a 640x480 LWIR thermal channel simultaneously. That thermal resolution is sharper than the Fotokite Sigma's 320x240 standard thermal. The aircraft carries a 2 to 5 kg payload, so heavier or specialised sensors can be fitted within that limit.

See: Payload and sensor detail

Tethered drone for persistent perimeter surveillance in high wind

It is built for holding a position, not chasing one. The quad co-axial airframe resists wind to 17 m/s, which is above the Hoverfly Spectre's stated sustained 25 mph, and it holds station for 12 hours continuously. Elistair and Fotokite do not publish a wind figure in m/s, so ask for one before comparing. For a fixed perimeter watch, that combination of height, endurance and wind tolerance is the point.

See: Wind and endurance compared, Perimeter and ISR context

Tethered surveillance system that deploys fast from a vehicle

It deploys in 10 minutes and runs off a 400 V, 6,000 W winch that shows power, current, cable tension and tether length. That makes it a rapid stand-up asset rather than a fixed installation. Bring your vehicle or ground-station arrangement to the review so the winch mounting, power feed and cable run are scoped to how you will actually set it up.

See: Deployment and power compared

What happens to a tethered drone if the cable is cut or power fails?

Ours keeps 10 to 12 minutes of battery reserve and lands itself automatically if tether power disconnects. This is the worst moment for any tethered aircraft, and none of the three named competitors states a reserve figure on its published material. So it is a direct question to put to any tethered vendor: what does the aircraft do the instant the tether fails, and how long does it have to do it.

See: Loss-of-tether behaviour compared

Tethered drone that runs on ground power instead of swapping batteries

That is the whole design. Power comes down the 120 m tether from a 400 V, 6,000 W winch, which removes the battery-swap cycle that limits a free-flying drone, and the 10 to 12 minute onboard reserve exists only as a safety margin for a power loss. Hoverfly's Spectre draws under 2,000 W continuous by comparison, so confirm your ground supply can carry the winch load at your site.

See: Power and winch compared

Tethered drone for a defence buyer avoiding US re-export terms

The Hoverfly Spectre is a US product and carries the re-export questions that follow US-origin defence hardware; Elistair markets the Orion as ITAR-free. Ours is independent and non-aligned, so the aircraft, its winch and its support do not route through a foreign export desk. For a persistent asset that watches your own ground continuously, keeping the system and its imagery outside another state's export calendar is the structural advantage.

See: Origin and export compared

We need a camera watching a fixed site around the clock. Is a tethered drone better than a mast?

For continuous overhead watch, a tethered drone reaches higher and can be repositioned faster than a fixed mast, and ours holds station 12 hours continuously on a 120 m tether at up to 5 kg of sensor. The trade is that a mast has no aircraft to fail and no wind envelope, while a tethered drone needs its 17 m/s wind limit and its loss-of-tether behaviour respected. Decide by the height you need and the weather you face, and put both on the table at survey.

See: Height and endurance detail, ISR capability context

How do we compare endurance honestly when one vendor says 50 hours and another says 12?

By ignoring the headline and asking what actually ends the flight. Every system in this comparison is a tethered aircraft on ground power, so in principle each flies as long as the power holds: Elistair states 50 hours, Fotokite 24 hours while the vehicle runs, ours 12 hours continuous, and Hoverfly hours to weeks. The real limits are maintenance intervals, thermal duty and weather. Ask each vendor to state the maintenance interval and the weather envelope, and compare those, not the biggest number.

See: Endurance comparison in full

Can the tethered drone feed a wider command and sensor picture rather than a single screen?

Yes. The EO/IR gimbal streams dual simultaneous day and thermal feeds, and the system stores data both onboard and at a customised ground control station, so its output can go into a broader command layer and a ground sensor picture. Bring your command and control and sensor-fusion architecture to the review so the two video feeds and the storage are scoped into it rather than added afterwards.

See: Command and control, Ground sensor fusion

Our site sees strong gusts. Will the aircraft actually hold station, and what is the real limit?

The published wind resistance is 17 m/s, delivered by the quad co-axial airframe, and that is above the Hoverfly Spectre's stated sustained 25 mph. But wind resistance is a threshold, not a promise of a perfect image in a gale, and gusts above the sustained rating are what usually force a recovery. Elistair and Fotokite do not publish an m/s figure, so a like-for-like check needs their numbers too. Specify against the sustained and gust winds your site actually records.

See: Wind tolerance compared

How is a tethered surveillance system kept sovereign, not dependent on a foreign supplier?

By sourcing the aircraft, the winch and the support from one independent, non-aligned team rather than a US or European export chain. The Hoverfly Spectre is US-made with the re-export questions that follow, and Elistair markets the Orion as ITAR-free from France. A persistent surveillance asset watches your own ground and records what you protect, so keeping the system and its imagery inside your jurisdiction, and the spares off another state's export calendar, is the sovereign position.

See: Origin and support compared

What throughput of setup, watch and recovery can one crew realistically sustain?

The building blocks are a 10 minute deployment, 12 hours of continuous watch on tether power, and an automatic landing on tether power loss with a 10 to 12 minute reserve. What a crew can sustain across a shift depends on the number of relocations, the weather envelope and the ground-power arrangement, which is why those belong in a technical review with your real tasking rather than being read off a page. Set the tempo you need and size the crew and spares to it.

See: Deployment and safety figures

What is Tethered drone system?

Tethered drone system is Unstrat's Sky (Air Domain) capability: A 21 kg quad co-axial drone that draws power down a 120 m extendable tether and holds station for 12 hours continuously, in winds to 17 m/s. Deploys in 10 minutes, carries 2-5 kg of payload, keeps 10-12 minutes of battery reserve if tether power drops, and lands itself if the tether disconnects.

How does Tethered drone system work?

Tethered drone system delivers its effect through 12 hours of continuous endurance on a 120 m extendable powered tether, Deployment in 10 minutes; automated and manual flight modes with return-to-home and 2-5 kg payload capacity on a 21 kg quad co-axial airframe, wind resistance to 17 m/s, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.

Who makes Tethered drone system?

Tethered drone system is built by The Robotics & AI House, whose focus is unmanned systems, eo/ir sensors & ai video analytics. Unstrat represents The Robotics & AI House to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.

Why choose Tethered drone system over a major-power alternative?

Tethered drone system is sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so it carries no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: quad co-axial rotors hold station in 17 m/s winds; 400 V ground power removes the battery clock. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.

How is Tethered drone system procured, and where can it be exported?

Persistent overhead surveillance without an aircraft crew rotation: 12 hours on station from ground power, an EO/IR gimbal at 120 m, and a battery reserve that lands the aircraft safely if the tether ever drops. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Tethered drone system is then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.