A BRITISH spy plane is set to break the record for high-altitude unmanned flying this week when it is launched above the Australian desert.

The ultra-light Zephyr 3 is expected to climb to 132,000ft — more than 36,000ft higher than any other unmanned aircraft. The plane weighs only 26½lb — the same as a one-year-old child — despite its 40ft wingspan.

Preparations for the test at the Woomera airfield in South Australia have been kept secret, with the Ministry of Defence refusing to say how the aircraft will be launched. It is thought it will be released from a rocket, aircraft or balloon.

The Zephyr is designed by QinetiQ, the privatised former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, and is being funded by the MoD.

The project is seeking a cheap, reliable craft for photo reconnaissance and communications over a battlefield for many hours without the expense of conventional high-flying planes or satellites.

It could prove useful in retransmitting radio communications from the SAS in Iraq. This task is now done by RAF Hercules transport planes such as the one that crashed near Baghdad on January 30, killing all 10 servicemen on board.

The RAF also needs a replacement for its Canberra PR9 reconnaissance planes, which fly at up to 60,000ft and are soon to be retired.

Zephyr 3 has five tiny 1kW electric motors to power its propellers, fuelled by solar panels on long carbon composite wing frames.

An industry source said planes such as the Zephyr were able to store solar power for use at night, allowing them to stay aloft for weeks.

If the project succeeds, military officials believe they could eventually have squadrons of Zephyr 3 unmanned drones providing continuous radio, telephone or photo coverage over crisis areas ranging from battlefields to natural disasters.

An MoD spokesman confirmed the Woomera tests were imminent but declined to give details.

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