World’s first solar-powered drone with Boeing 747-sized wingspan

The unmanned platform, known as MAPS (Medium-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite), integrates advanced radar and AI technologies with extreme endurance to deliver uninterrupted maritime domain awareness. Interesting Engineering reported.

This drone has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 and can carry payloads of up to 881 pounds (400 kg).

This significantly improved over previous solar UAVs, which had limited use because they couldn’t carry heavy loads.

Operating at medium altitudes and without carbon emissions, the aircraft enables near-permanent surveillance of vast maritime expanses, including Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), shipping lanes, and contested maritime regions.

The strategic enhancement comes from Thales’ integration of its AirMaster S radar, a lightweight, AI-enabled sensor suite originally developed for manned maritime patrol aircraft such as the ATL2. 

Operating in an X-band with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology, AirMaster S offers rapid situational awareness across air, land, and sea domains. 

Its AI-driven data processing enables onboard target classification, dramatically reducing data loads sent to ground control and enabling efficient bandwidth use, which is critical for long-duration autonomous missions.

Skydweller’s aircraft are constructed from lightweight carbon fiber and powered entirely by solar panels, with no fossil fuels or traditional refueling infrastructure requirement. 

According to the company, the platform can monitor entire ocean regions, track illegal trafficking, conduct anti-piracy operations, or provide ISR overwatch during grey-zone conflicts at a fraction of the operational cost of traditional aircraft.