Elistair Khronos
Tethered drone system providing persistent aerial surveillance from a ship or vehicle.
Elistair Khronos is a French tethered drone system providing persistent aerial surveillance. In mid-July 2026 it flew from Exail's DriX O-16 uncrewed surface vessel, giving a crewless hull over-the-horizon vision.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
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Timeline for Elistair Khronos
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Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
Elistair Khronos is a tethered drone system made by French manufacturer Elistair, designed to provide persistent aerial surveillance from a ship, vehicle or fixed position. Because it is powered and kept aloft through a cable rather than an onboard battery, it can remain airborne for FAR longer than a free-flying drone.
That endurance is the product's defining trait: a live video and sensor feed runs continuously back to whatever platform it is anchored to, making it suited to standing surveillance tasks rather than short reconnaissance flights.
Khronos flew in this configuration for the first time from an uncrewed hull in mid-July 2026, when Exail tested it above the DriX O-16 alongside a Safran VIGY 4 camera, extending its established persistent-surveillance role from static or crewed mounts to autonomous ones.
Khronos flies from an uncrewed hull
Elistair's Khronos system flew tethered above Exail's DriX O-16 in mid-July 2026, its cable feeding both power and a live sensor link back to the hull below rather than relying on an onboard battery.
That Tether is what let Khronos hold station for the duration of the trial rather than the short endurance a free-flying quadcopter would offer, feeding continuous video back to the O-16's control system throughout. Doing so from an uncrewed hull, rather than the crewed ships Khronos normally serves, turned a routine persistent-surveillance role into a demonstration that autonomous vessels can operate the same standing-watch equipment unsupervised.
What is the Elistair Khronos?
How was the Elistair Khronos tested at sea?
Why fly a tethered drone from an uncrewed ship?
