A Canadian start-up is offering a novel solution to the problem of how to affordably deliver large volumes of long-range precision munitions – launch them via balloon.
Alberta-based Landing Zones Canada says it has completed development and flight testing of a product it calls the Eagle Advanced Payload Delivery System, a low-observable glider that deploys from stratospheric altitudes via balloon to deliver lethal effects.
The system is centred on the variable-wing Eagle uncrewed aerial vehicle, which Landing Zones describes as a glider delivery system able to carry unspecified payloads “hundreds of miles downrange”, even without satellite assisted navigation systems like GPS.
Notably, the weapon system could function with full autonomy or a so-called “man in the loop”, according to Landing Zones.
“Its variable wing profile, allowing flights from supersonic to loitering speeds, along with its ability to carry various payloads and perform in [GPS] contested environments, positions Eagle as a game-changer for military operations worldwide,” said Spence Fraser, Landing Zones founder and chief executive, in January.
It is unclear how an unpowered craft would ever reach supersonic speeds, or if the design is meant to be recoverable or treated as expendable. Landing Zones did not respond to a request for further explanation.
One concept of operations for the unusual weapon system would see multiple Eagle vehicles carried aloft to heights of up to 100,000ft via balloon, at which point they would drop and deploy the variable geometry glide wings for flight to the target.
A concept video released by Fraser in 2023 depicts a flight of four Eagles working in tandem to attack a naval vessel at sea.
After dropping from the mothership balloon, two of the drones use an onboard electronic warfare payload to simulate the signature of larger munitions inbound on a conventional attack vector.
Separately, two more Eagles lying in wait at 30,000ft execute a World War II-style dive bomber approach on the ship, retracting their glide wings and plunging straight toward deck at a near vertical angle.
Landing Zones argues the design’s small size, low-observable shape and high operating altitude make it less detectable by modern air defences, improving survivablility over conventional alternatives.
If proven viable, the unorthodox delivery method of hoisting a glide weapon to extreme altitudes also offers the significant benefit of maintaining standoff from an enemy, something now viewed as essential to battlefield survivability in the era of long-range precision weaponry.
