Facebook’s ‘Aquila’, the first solar powered internet drone, parallels Google’s Project Loon PHOTO: Jewish Business News

Facebook has unveiled its ambitious project with its first comprehensive solar powered drone. With the help of its first drone code named Aquila, the social networking giant aims to provide internet connection to 4 billion users across the secluded parts of the globe. In fact, Aquila joins Google’s Project Loon in the space of connecting people and places.

The V-shaped massive drone which was designed and built in a span of just 14 months is capable of flying uninterruptedly for three months. Aquila has to be incredibly light, because it’s going to be kept aloft for as long as three months at a time using solar power. Just staying in the air for that long is a challenge, but Facebook’s also going to be pushing Internet access down to people 60,000-90,000 feet below using lasers, as well as maintaining communications between drones to maintain coverage across wider regions. Aquila is the first complete concept we’ve seen come out of Facebook’s acqui-hires of engineers from UK-based Ascenta, unveiled nearly a year ago today. Facebook says it’ll begin test flights this summer, with a broader rollout over the next several years.

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