Alta Devices' solar technology selected to help power Hybrid Tiger UAV

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will use Alta Devices' "highly efficient, flexible, and light-weight" solar technology to help power the "breakthrough" Hybrid Tiger UAV. The Hybrid Tiger is a project designed to create a Group-2 UAV that will stay aloft for at least three and a half days, and Alta Devices says that technologies developed for the project will be applicable to other unmanned vehicles. "Widespread use of small UAVs in both the military and industry has been limited to-date by endurance. The Hybrid Tiger will demonstrate that very long endurance flights, with sophisticated telemetry and capabilities, can be achieved with the inclusion of solar arrays," says Jian Ding, Alta Devices CEO. "This project will open the door for many new solar powered UAV applications, and we look forward to achieving next generation breakthroughs via this cooperative effort."