Rocket powered UAV certified for speed

Certification from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) means that Dawn Aerospace, operating out of New Zealand, Netherlands and the US, can fly its Mk-II Aurora up to supersonic at an altitude of up to 80,000 feet.

This certification also permits operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without the need for restricted airspace.

The Mk-II Aurora has been designed to be the first aircraft to fly to an altitude of 100km twice in a day. According to the company, the aircraft’s rapid reuse and low cost makes it suited for a variety of applications in microgravity, high-speed flight research, earth observation, plus other defence and civil uses.

In a statement, Stefan Powell, CEO at Dawn Aerospace, said: “This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight. To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately funded UAV to break the sound barrier.”

Certification follows years of collaboration between Dawn Aerospace and local agencies, including the CAA, NZ Space Agency, airways and local airspace users. Together, they have worked to understand how to safely integrate high-performance vehicles with existing airspace users.

Since the first flight of the Mk-II Aurora in July 2021, Dawn has completed 50 flight tests under jet and rocket power, operating under more restrictive licenses.

“Receiving this certification is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and their ability to operate such a high-performance vehicle to the standards the CAA expects of any aircraft operator,” said Powell.

The Mk-II vehicle is now poised to take a significant step towards its goal of flying to 100km altitude multiple times per day.

“At full performance, the Mk-II will fly faster and 2.5 times higher than any prior aircraft that takes off from a runway, including the current record holder, the SR-71 Blackbird. That is the power of bringing rocket performance to an aircraft platform,” said Powell.

Since its last flights in 2023, where it achieved speeds of 200 knots and altitudes of 9,000 feet, the Mk-II vehicle has undergone extensive upgrades and testing. The final pre-flight test, an all-up systems test, included a 60-second firing and restart of its engine to demonstrate go-around capability.

The upcoming flight test campaign, scheduled from July through September, will consist of up to a dozen flights. The primary objective is to expand the vehicle's envelope to Mach 1.1 and 70,000 feet. A secondary objective is to demonstrate two flights in a day to showcase rapid reusability.