With a 236-foot wingspan that’s wider than a 747’s, the battery and solar-powered Skydweller Aero drone is pushing the boundaries of aviation. And, after back-to-back three-day flights without recharging, it’s pushing the boundaries of energy efficiency, too, begging the question: is perpetual aviation really here?
In the thick and humid pre-dawn air of a thin ribbon of airstrip just north of Interstate 10 on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, the Skydweller Aero crew set about proving that its massive unmanned drone, which promised to fly, without fuel, and virtually forever, could deliver.
Three-days later, the Skydweller came down, as planned. The crew checked it, inspected its 17,000 solar cells, gave it the all-clear, then took off again.
Forever flight
“It always takes a little longer than you think, but we’re getting there,” says Robert Miller, CEO and co-founder of the perpetual solar flight startup. “Every 12 months we see a quantum step in where we’re headed.”
Skydweller’s most recent three-day tests were conducted by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). Fitting, as the Navy is one of the drone’s most likely customers.
The US military is believed to be interested in what an aircraft like Skydweller could bring to its operations in Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which encompasses Mexico, Latin America, and nearby waters. With its 800 lb. payload capacity, it’s to see how a Skydweller drone could be loaded up with all manner of sensors, cameras, or radio receivers and sweep a given area constantly, providing an eagle-eyed view to support drug enforcement or rescue missions. And a Mark 82 bomb (if you’re into that sort of thing).
Skydweller Aero makes it clear, however, that the company isn’t out to become just a defense contractor. They have civilian ambitions for their aircraft, as well, and mention the possibilities of sensor suites for weather research, astronomy, law enforcement, and remote outpost support, as well as the possibility of serving as something like a “low orbit” Starlink satellite.
You can watch the Skydweller’s initial flight test from last summer, below, then let us know what you think the big drone’s primary use case will be (bombs) in the comments.
Skydweller Aero flight test
SOURCE | IMAGES: Skydweller Aero, via Jalopnik, NOLA.
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