Sioux Falls, SD (August 30, 2020) — Raven Industries (NASDAQ: RAVN) is proud to announce that Raven Aerostar’s Thunderhead Balloon System has set a new duration record of 59 days. Flight HBAL0412, launched on July 2 at 9:59 a.m., demonstrated the Thunderhead System’s ability to persist over areas of interest for extended periods of time. The record-breaking flight is the culmination of a long-standing tradition of quality, service, and innovation at Raven Aerostar.
“Raven Aerostar continues to expand the limits of stratospheric performance and is accomplishing feats that have never been done,” explained Scott Wickersham, Division Vice President & General Manager of Raven Aerostar. “We are establishing a new realm of possibilities and remain dedicated to developing solutions with enhanced stratospheric capabilities.”
The balloon traveled 13,923 nmi and maintained a total of 481 hours within two designated Areas of Interest.
“Raven R&D continues to conduct dedicated flight tests to improve the duration and the flight automation of our tactical balloon systems,” said Russ Van Der Werff, Senior Engineering Manager at Raven Aerostar. “This flight is a great milestone for Thunderhead, demonstrating record duration and providing a solid test for our station seeking autopilot capabilities.”
Thunderhead Balloon Systems are ideal for a variety of missions including: Research and Development, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Position-Navigation-Time (PNT), and more.