Unmanned solar aircraft makes successful flight at Stennis International Airport

A company that has created a solar-powered aircraft completed an unmanned flight at Stennis International Airport on Thursday, the company announced.

Skydweller, which has a wingspan greater than a 747, completed the world’s first successful unmanned flight of a large solar-powered aircraft, taking off, flying and landing by itself, without humans on-board or in control, from Stennis airport in Hancock County.

“This is a true, world-changing first in the aerospace industry,” said Robert Miller, CEO, Skydweller Aero,the aircraft’s manufacturer. “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 such as providing continuous aerial overage above conflict zones, surveilling naval activity in contested waters without risking pilots’ lives, detecting drug smugglers and pirates at sea, and tracking wildlife migration and poaching in Africa.

“This really is a first when it comes to national security and protecting Americans,” said Sen. Roger Wicker,ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee who unveiled a Skydweller aircraft to the public last month. “It really is great news and it’s only the beginning.”

Skydweller aircraft can stay aloft for 90 days or more, at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet. Current combustion-powered aircraft, including drones, are limited to approximately 40 hours maximum flight time, limited by the endurance of pilots, the amount of fuel a conventional aircraft can carry, and the need for frequent maintenance.

These aircraft can accomplish missions with a single aircraft that has historically required a fleet of conventional aircraft, flight crews and maintenance personnel. According to the company, a single solar-powered aircraft capable of perpetual flight, coupled with minimal operating personnel, replaces all of this cost for the same mission. As such, solar-powered aircraft are 10 to 100 times less expensive to operate than conventional aircraft for long duration missions, the company said.