Drone with Boeing 747-sized wingspan flies 74 hours non-stop on only solar power
EL.KZ Информационно-познавательный портал
US-based aerospace startup Skydweller Aero has successfully flown its solar-powered drone for nearly three days straight in recent tests. The aircraft, which has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 747, flew entirely on solar and battery power, El.kz reports citing interestingengineering.com.
“In back-to-back missions, Skydweller — the world’s largest solar-powered aircraft — stayed aloft for 73 and 74 hours, powered entirely by sunlight,” said the firm.
“Over the course of four recent flights, the aircraft logged 222 total hours in the air, validating its endurance, resilience, and transformative potential.”
The technology’s capabilities are being evaluated by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). The US Navy is assessing the Skydweller for long-duration intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missionswithin the vast U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area.
Such a capability would allow for a continuous presence over a target area with fewer aircraft and lower operational costs compared to conventional fleets.
To aid long-duration missions
The ability to provide unbroken monitoring over large swaths of ocean and land could aid in detecting activities like drug trafficking and illegal fishing.
The Skydweller platform offers a different operational model than existing ISR assets. The jet-powered RQ-4 Global Hawk, for example, has a flight time of around 30 hours before it must return to base for fuel.
While the military operates refueling tankers, using them for uncrewed aircraft in sensitive areas is often not tactically feasible. The Skydweller’s self-powering design circumvents this logistical constraint.
“Our customers are planning to deploy Skydwellers for long-duration missions like detecting drug smugglers and pirates at sea, providing continuous aerial coverage above war zones, surveilling naval activity in contested waters without risking flight crew’s lives, and tracking wildlife migration and poaching in Africa,” concluded Skydweller.
As Interesting Engineering has already reported, its AI-driven data processing enables onboard target classification, dramatically reducing data loads sent to ground control and enabling efficient bandwidth use, which is critical for long-duration autonomous missions.
Beyond government use, Skydweller Aero plans to enter the commercial sector. The drone could be equipped with sensors for scientific applications, such as atmospheric data collection or environmental monitoring.
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