The Boeing SolarEagle (Vulture II) was a proposed High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle solar-electric spy plane developed by Boeing Phantom Works.[1]

SolarEagle
Role High Altitude, Long Endurance Unmanned aerial vehicle
National origin United States
Manufacturer Boeing
Status Cancelled

The proposed aircraft had a wingspan of 393.7 feet (120.0 meters), and was intended to remain airborne for up to five years at a time without needing to land.[2] It had 20 motors of the same type as the Qinetiq Zephyr designed by Newcastle University. Boeing was awarded an $89 million contract by DARPA's Vulture program,[3] with Boeing covering the remainder.[4] It was slated to make its first flight in 2014, but in 2012 the SolarEagle project was cancelled[5] and DARPA's Vulture program was refocused on advancing photovoltaic and energy storage technologies.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ Haddox, Chris. "SolarEagle (Vulture II) Backgrounder" Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Boeing Phantom Works, September 2010. Retrieved: 18 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Remote robots: Human-free by land, sea and air". New Scientist.
  3. ^ "Boeing Wins DARPA Vulture II Program". MediaRoom (Press release). September 16, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "The pilotless plane that can stay in the air for years". 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Facebook's UAV Flies, Builds On Developments In Solar Power | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com.
  6. ^ "Vulture". darpa.mil.
  7. ^ "Solar Drones Are Filling the Skies, But There's Still No Clear Winner". popularmechanics.com. 9 May 2019.