US Navy is Developing a Solar-Powered Plane That Can Fly for 90 Days

US officials signed a $5 million contract with the American-Spanish aerospace firm Skydweller Aero for a solar-powered unmanned aircraft that can fly for 90 days.

For the development of the aircraft, which is thought to serve as a surveillance tool and potentially a communication platform, US authorities signed a $5 million contract with the American-Spanish aviation company Skydweller Aero.

The aircraft, which will be designed to stay in the air for 90 days, will be built on a more advanced piece of solar-powered hardware called Solar Impulse 2. The navy version of the aircraft allows more equipment to be installed by eliminating the pilot, and while increasing the uninterrupted flight time to 90 days, it will have 72 m wide wings covered with solar cells and will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells for additional power increases.