UAV Corp has completed the inflation test of its DART SA-70 airship at its Wewahitchka, Florida facility. The event was held behind closed doors and attended by government officials, investors involved in Letters of Intent, and members of UAV Corp’s technical team. It marked the first of three milestones before the airship’s full operational launch.

The DART SA-70 is UAV Corp’s leading lighter-than-air unmanned system, made for high-endurance missions in disaster relief, defence, public safety and telecoms. It is designed for use by FEMA, Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, and Naval Warfare. The system supports both tethered and autonomous operations and can fly up to 10,000 feet MSL.

“This is more than a technical milestone - it’s a turning point,” said UAV Corp CEO Michael Lawson. “Today’s success affirms our vision for scalable, mission-driven airship technology and sets the stage for the next phase of testing and deployment. The SA-70 was envisioned as a transformative asset for agencies requiring persistent aerial presence in the harshest of environments. This success brings us one step closer to proving its value at scale.”

The inflation validated the airship’s structure and tether-control systems. It also served as a training and onboarding session for new hires as part of the company’s commitment to growing its workforce. The SA-70 features modular Aerial Payload Operations Decks (APODs), which include mission-flexible avionics and twin drone launch units for real-time surveillance and quick-response tasks.

The upcoming phase will include weight balance checks and propulsion tests using four Rotax 912is engines. These are expected to be upgraded to hybrid-electric or hydrogen power in future. The SA-70 is being readied under a Special Airworthiness Certificate for flight testing in May or June 2025.

UAV Corp sees the SA-70 as central to its efforts in aerospace innovation, national defence and environmental resilience, and aims to deliver scalable next-gen systems to government and international partners.