Skydweller Aero presents the world’s first autonomous solar plane. U.S. government invests 5 million dollar în this state of the art technology

An aerospace business is developing solar-powered flying technologies for planes. Operating out of a makeshift hangar at Stennis International Airport, just a short 15-minute drive from the Louisiana-Mississippi border, Skydweller Aero Inc. has been testing an unmanned aircraft measuring three-quarters of a football field in wingspan. The company claims that the aircraft can fly nonstop for up to ninety days using only solar energy, according to Nola.com.

Expanding on the technology currently used on the Solar Impulse 2, the solar-powered aircraft responsible for the first-ever solar-powered circumnavigation of the earth, Skydweller Aero is developing a new type of unmanned aircraft. Skydweller bought that airplane in 2019 and started preparing it for unmanned flight. In February 2023, Aviation Week announced that Skydweller had finished its maiden autonomous flight.

Last year, the aircraft was transported to the hangar in Mississippi on a Boeing 747, where it was disassembled in preparation for further inspection.
According to head engineer of Skydweller, Travis Vetter, 17,000 solar cells have been placed on the top of the aircraft. These cells collect sunlight during the day and store it in batteries to power the plane.

A U.S. government contract for this solar plane

The business has been awarded a five-million-dollar contract by the U.S. Navy to show the potential applications of autonomous solar flying, including patrols over vast bodies of water. In the words of Miller, it is anticipated that the contract will grow and more solar planes would be produced.

„The numbers depend on the level of enthusiasm of the U.S. government,” he said after the unveiling, standing beneath the wing. “We think the level will be high.”

The company highlighted that the primary reason for situating near the Mississippi coast was its strategic location. They emphasized that the Gulf of Mexico would serve as an excellent testing site.

CEO Robert Miller decided not to delve into the specifics of the test flights but mentioned, „They’ve been very successful.”

Earlier, addressing the gathered audience, Miller expressed, „It possesses game-changing capabilities.” He painted a scenario, envisioning an aircraft capable of departing from the West Coast, traversing to the South China Sea, and sustaining flight for weeks thereafter.

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