A French startup called Celeste Ecoflyers is developing a pneumatic-wing cargo drone designed for long-duration logistics missions with low energy consumption.
Named dAS10, the aircraft recently completed avionics activation and taxiing tests at Le Havre Airport in France, moving on to the next stage of development.
The project’s key innovation lies in the wing structure: instead of using traditional rigid components, the drone employs a type of pressurized textile envelope. According to the company, this change significantly reduces the aircraft’s weight, allowing for greater energy efficiency and increased flight endurance.
“Celeste is not an airship, it is a fixed-wing aircraft. Lift is aerodynamic, not buoyant. What is pneumatic is the wing structure itself: a pressurized textile envelope replacing the rigid skin and spars, which makes the fuselage deployable, field-repairable, and gives it an unusual radar signature for an 8-meter platform,” the company stated.
According to Celeste, the dAS10 can remain airborne for up to six hours and achieve a range of around 300 kilometers. The drone also uses solar panels installed on the wings to further increase its endurance during daytime operations.
Although the concept has limitations in terms of speed and resistance to adverse weather conditions, the company is betting on structural simplicity and ease of field repair as important operational advantages for sustainable and remote logistics missions. The model is still awaiting its first full flight to assess its real operational effectiveness.
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Photo: Celeste Ecoflyers. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
