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Skydweller Aero shared Thursday that it completed the world's first successful autonomous/uncrewed flight of a large solar-powered aircraft in the U.S., taking off from the Stennis International Airport (HSA) in a solar-powered aircraft with a wingspan greater than the Boeing 747.
The large solar-powered aircraft took off without any humans on board or in control, successfully taking off, flying and landing by itself. Skydweller is the only global manufacturer of large, autonomous and solar-powered aircraft that are capable of perpetual flight. This is a major achievement for the company and the progress toward emission-free aviation operations.
"This is a true, world-changing first in the aerospace industry," Skydweller Aero CEO Robert Miller said. "Our fleet of uncrewed aircraft will enable a multitude of long-duration missions that support national security and non-terrestrial communications with revolutionary cost savings."
Skydwellers can be deployed for long-duration missions, including continuous aerial overage above conflict zones, surveilling naval activity in contested waters without risking pilots' lives, detecting drug smugglers and pirates out at sea, and tracking wildlife migration and poaching in Africa.
"This really is a first when it comes to national security and protecting Americans," Senator Roger Wicker, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said. "It really is great news and it's only the beginning."
Skydweller aircraft are capable of perpetual flight and can stay aloft for 90 days or more at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet. Current combustion-powered aircraft, including piloted aircraft and drones, have more limitations and are only able to perform a maximum of 40 hours of flight time, limited by the endurance of pilots, the amount of fuel carried and the need for frequent maintenance.
"We are applying cutting-edge, 21st-century materials science, artificial intelligence, and software development to an industry that has spent more than 100 years building piloted, combustion-based aircraft," Miller said. "This allows Skydweller to leap ahead of heritage aircraft manufacturers in terms of aircraft performance, flight duration, and cost-effectiveness."
This solar-powered alternative allows for missions to be accomplished with a single aircraft rather than a fleet of conventional aircraft, flight crews and maintenance personnel. A single Skydweller aircraft can perform perpetual flight, requires minimal operating personnel and can replace all of the cost for the same mission. The solar-powered Skydwellers are 10 to 100 times less expensive to operate than conventional aircraft for long-duration missions.
The use of autonomous aircraft can also save lives by removing the need for flight crews in hostile or dangerous airspace. The aircraft can take off from the U.S., fly by itself to the South China Sea, staying in the air on a mission for weeks or months before returning home. The autonomy enables traditional long-duration missions as well as missions that would have formerly been seen as unacceptable due to the risk to the flight crew.