Solar Aircraft flies 5 years in a row

The Boeing Group is developing a generation of solar powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of operating in the airship for five consecutive years.

>>> Solar planes fly around Switzerland

The SolarEagle solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle is designed to operate on the airspace beyond radar detection for military purposes, such as intelligence gathering. and sent to the terrestrial receiving station.

Although still in design, the Boeing SolarEagle drones have received a $ 89 million order from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Expected, the aircraft will be completed and flight test flights continuously for about 30 days in 2014.

For long-term energy, the SolarEagle was designed with a 120-meter long wing mounted on solar panels. In addition, the SolarEagle is also equipped with an electrically charged system for the operation of the aircraft during the night.

" The SolarEagle is designed with a very long wing design that allows it to operate continuously on high atmospheres for at least five years," said Pat O'Neil, manager of the Boeing Phantom program. Works, said . 'SolarEagle can provide accurate information on military targets above 18 km .'

In July, Boeing's Phantom Works design team unveiled a model of a high-powered, hydrogen- powered drones complex called the Phantom Eye . The unmanned aerial vehicle has a wingspan of 45.7 meters and a ceiling of 19,800 meters, with a top speed of about 278 kilometers per hour.

Phantom Eye will begin testing at the NASA Research Center in California, while the first flight will last between four and eight hours in the first quarter of 2011.