The US Navy is eyeballing solar energy and a hydrogen fuel cell for infinite flight.Everyone is interested in quiet, stealthy electric aircraft for military use, and solar energy could gild the operational lily. The US Navy is about to find out just how silent and stealthy it can go, with the launch of a $14 million contract to the firm Skydweller Aero Inc., for something called “Extreme-Endurance Solar Aircraft Systems.
“The project’s primary objective is the development and integration of key hardware and software that leverage clean technology to increase efficiency and performance,” Skydweller explains. If all goes according to plan, the end result will be a “new class of unmanned aircraft, providing the persistence of geosynchronous satellites with the powerful sensing capabilities and range of a large, airborne platform,” meaning it can carry a much heavier payload than the typical drone.