Huge New Hydrogen-Powered Spy Drone Takes Test Flight (EWARDS
AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.) -- A new unmanned surveillance drone
that can stay aloft for four days at a time and has a wingspan
bigger than a 757 successfully completed its first test flight
over California's Mojave Desert, though it sustained minor
damage on landing. Boeing's Phantom Eye drone, which is powered
by liquid hydrogen, flew for less than half an hour at 4,000
feet before touching down on a dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force
Base near Bakersfield. The landing gear dug into the ground on
landing, causing minor damage. Most surveillance drones
currently in use in the ongoing U.S. drone war against al Qaeda
and the Taliban can stay in the air for a maximum of 40 hours
without refueling. The Phantom Eye's unique liquid hydrogen
propulsion system is meant to keep the spy plane aloft for up to
four days at altitudes of 65,000 feet. "This flight puts Boeing
on a path to accomplish another aerospace first," said Darryl
Davis, president of Boeing Pha