Energy efficiency and innovation are the name of the game when it comes to a new new solar powered drone being developing for the Pentagon by Boeing. Dubbed the SolarEagle, this innovative drone will be capable of flying for five straight years at 60,000 feet. According to the LA Times, Boeing recently announced it had won the $89-million contract with DARPA to develop a prototype of the SolarEagle that can demonstrate it can stay aloft for 30 days by 2014. According to DARPA, the program will “enable a re-taskable, persistent pseudo-satellite capability in an aircraft package. The technology combines the key benefits of an aircraft (flexibility & responsiveness, sensor resolution, reduced transmit/receive power, affordable deployment) with the benefits of a satellite (on- station persistence, no logistics tail, zero emissions, energy independence, minimal fleet size, absence of in-country footprint).” Very interesting stuff. Is this the future of GEOINT? Check out more here.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/09/drone-solar-power-boeing-phantom-works.html
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