
Eagle Ray Drone
This blended wing body high altitude drone will scan the Himalayas to help protect the endangered snow leopards.
Fifty million years ago, Eurasia and current day India collided to create the tallest mountain range in the world -- the Himalayas. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayan mountain range runs west-northwest to east-southeast in an arc 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long. Standing at 8,848 meters (29,031.7 ft), nestled between Nepal, Tibet, and China, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain peak in the world. Glaciers and fast flowing water have cut the mountains creating jagged peaks and valleys through which winds blow with rapidly varying direction.
Masters of disguise, the snow leopards (PANTHERA UNCIA) evolved about 3.9 million years ago from Miacids, a common ancestor of tigers, to become king of the Himalayas. These elusive cats live above the high alpine areas where they hunt the blue sheep, Argali wild sheep, ibex, marmots, pikas, deer and other small mammals. Having thrived under some of the harshest conditions on Earth, snow leopard populations are now in rapid decline and will be gone soon unless action is taken to ensure their protection. Despite being listed as endangered since 1972, and legally protected, humans hunt and poison them for trophies, fur and body parts; hunt their prey; and destroy their habitat through over grazing of domestic animals. Researchers aren’t sure how many snow leopards are left in the world. In 2016, IUCN estimated that there are between 2,710 and 3,386 snow leopards found in the high mountains of Central and South Asia. Eagle Ray is a 21 Feet Blended Body Aircraft that will patrol at 20,000 feet in the Himalayas to protect snow leopards with a watchful eye in the sky.
Project Numbers
20K
Eagle Ray will be able to fly at altitudes of up to 20,000 feet.
21'
The wingspan of Eagle Ray from tip to tip is 21 feet.
10
Eagle Ray will be able to say up in the air for up to 10 hours at a time.
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