This drone's wingspan rivals a 737--but it's lighter than a NFL linebacker It could deliver internet to remote areas...or quietly watch us from the stratosphere. Radical's Evenstar solar-powered drone has a 120-foot wing span and weighs just 240 pounds. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Back in the mid-2010s, some of the world's biggest tech companies were racing to launch lightweight, solar-powered drones to hover above remote areas and beam down internet connectivity. Meta (then called Facebook) and Google, the two companies most heavily investing in the technology at the time, abruptly exited the space following a series of mishaps.

A solar-powered surveillance drone with a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet could fly for weeks or months at a time, according to its operator, while watching for drug-smuggling vessels, pirates or naval warships. It has been performing test flights off the US Gulf Coast this month. The Skydweller drone, operated by US-Spanish firm Skydweller Aero, has a wingspan of 72 metres – exceeding the width of most commercial passenger jets. But it weighs only about 2500 kilograms – as much as a Ford F-150 truck. It is based on the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft, which performed the first solar-powered flight around the world in 2016. Skydweller Aero purchased and converted the pioneering aircraft with the goal of building a fleet of similar solar-powered, carbon-fibre drones capable of "perpetual flight" at altitudes exceeding 13 kilometres in daytime hours.

Facebook has patented a high-tech drone that uses a unique apparatus to stay afloat. The filing, titled'Dual-kite aerial vehicle,' describes an unmanned aerial vehicle that is attached to two kites and can be flown at different altitudes. The kites allow the drone to remain in the air for an extended period of time'while consuming little or no fuel,' according to the patent. Facebook has patented a high-tech drone that uses a unique apparatus to stay afloat. The filing, 'Dual-kite aerial vehicle,' describes an unmanned aerial vehicle tethered to two kites The drone is attached to the two kites via a tether, which are each able to maintain flight at different altitudes.

Ordnance survey has unveiled a solar-powered drone that is capable of flying for 90 days at a time without needing to come back to Earth and will be used to provide higher quality images of Earth. It will circle at approximately 67,000 ft (20,400m) above the ground and snap images to sell to organisations and businesses. First tests of the Astigan unmanned aerial vehicle are scheduled to take place before the end of 2019. Ordnance Survey is the majority stakeholder in Astigan, a firm based in Bridgwater, Somerset. The company works in the same factory that was once home to Facebook's Aquila internet drone project.

Facebook may not have abandoned its program for high-speed internet drones after all. The social media giant is now working with Airbus to test drones in Australia, according to NetzPolitik. Last year, Facebook grounded its so-called Aquila project following'significant internal turmoil' at the company, but said it would continue to pursue partnerships with firms like Airbus. Facebook grounded its so-called Aquila project following'significant' internal turmoil last year. But now it's reportedly working aerospace giant Airbus to test drones in Australia Now, a document obtained by NetzPolitik using a Freedom of Information Act request, has detailed Facebook's plans to continue testing drones. Facebook and Airbus planned to conduct tests at Wyndham Airfield in Western Australia last November and December, using Airbus' pioneering solar-powered'Zephyr' drone.

Facebook has quietly killed its plans to build massive drones that beam high-speed internet across the globe following'significant internal turmoil' at the company. The so-called Aquila project had twice successfully flown prototype drones but is now being scrapped in favour of new partnerships with firms like Airbus. It follows the announcement that Andrew Cox, head of Aquila project, and Martin Gomez, Facebook's director of aeronautical platforms, have both resigned. The decision means Facebook is shutting down a facility in Bridgwater, Somerset, that had been helping to build the technology. Sixteen people have lost their jobs as a result of the closure.

Russia is testing solar-powered drones that can fly for days at a time above the clouds. If the trial is successful the large glider-like drones could perform some of the same functions as today's space satellites. The model LA-252 Aist will be tested at a height of nine to 13 miles (15 - 21 kilometres) and can be used as a communication device, repeater and Wi-Fi transmitter. Russia is testing solar-powered drones that can fly for days at a time above the clouds. The large glider-like drones could perform some of the same functions as today's space satellites If the trial is successful the large glider-like drones could perform some of the same functions as today's space satellites.

Drones capable of carrying explosives to countries thousands of miles away could be available in just five years, according to an expert. These terror drones could fly from Africa to the US in just over a day, a top US defence adviser told the Pentagon. Many companies are chasing a new commercial market and pushing this technology forward which means in the next few years they could become widely available. The Greased Lightening drone (pictured) can fold eight out of its ten propellers down to reach optimum efficiency. A company called Advanced Aircraft Company has created a drone called Greased Lightening which combines the best bits of drone and aeroplane design.

For militaries, tech like this provides an excellent platform for surveillance missions against military and terrorist targets. It can utilize its high flight ceiling to maintain line-of-sight contact with over 400,000 square miles of ground and water. For both militaries and tech firms, covering so much territory makes it an excellent data relay and communications node. This will allow the drone to replace or back up satellite communications, maintain coverage between distant aircraft and ships, or even provide broadband to rural Chinese households. While conversations around drone usage are often limited to their roles as potential missile-toting killers and parcel-delivering quadcopters, some of the most important drones of the future may be those like the Caihong X and Helios Prototype, unseen and high up, gathering data day in and day out.

Google owner Alphabet's subsidiary research company, X, has shut down its project aimed at building a solar-powered drone intended to bring internet access to remote areas. The project, which stemmed from an acquisition Google made in April 2014 of New Mexico-based Titan Aerospace, was deemed by X to be less promising than a competing attempt to use lightweight weather balloons for the same purpose. "The team from Titan was brought into X in late-2015. We ended our exploration of high-altitude UAVs for internet access shortly after," an X spokesperson said. "By comparison, at this stage the economics and technical feasibility of Project Loon [its high-altitude balloon project] present a much more promising way to connect rural and remote parts of the world. Many people from the Titan team are now using their expertise as part of other high-flying projects at X, including Loon and Project Wing."