Autonomous plane will fly without a crew for 90 days using only energy from the sun

A US-based aerospace company is testing a solar-powered autonomous plane that can fly for 90 days, without any humans on board.

Times are changing, and it could fly at speeds of 35 mph (56 km/h) for three months.

It’s hard to imagine a flight without a pilot and no jet fuel staying in the air for that long.

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However, Skydweller Aero is changing that — it wants an entire fleet of such aircraft in the foreseeable future.

The plane — called ‘Skydweller’ — could eventually be used for unmanned emergency operations and hauling cargo in the long run.

The aircraft seems straight out of a dystopian future movie, right?

What’s even better is the aircraft looks like a huge glider, while only weighing as much as a large pickup truck.

Likewise, its wingspan is more than that of a Boeing 747 passenger plane.

To put the size of the wingspan into perspective, that’s three-quarters of a football field.

Now, imagine an aircraft of that size flying without a pilot for three full months.

Modern-day commercial planes that are operational today can only stay in the air for a maximum of 40 hours.

In contrast, the Skydweller seems like a massive upgrade.

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The industry’s shift towards autonomous planes isn’t new — several private companies are working on the tech to make it possible.

Moreover. even the US Air Force has a plan to develop a next-gen autonomous plane for defense operations.

“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,” Skydweller Aero CEO Robert Miller said in a statement.

The aerospace company has already completed a successful test flight of the solar-powered autonomous plane.

The aircraft developer conducted the test flight at Stennis International Airport in Mississippi.

The U.S. Navy has also awarded the company a $5 million contract to demonstrate the uses of unmanned solar flight

So, we might see more of this solar-powered autonomous plane in the future.