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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
747-Sized Drone Flies For Three Days On Solar Power Alone
Aviation startup Skydweller Aero has successfully flown a drone with a bigger wingspan than a Boeing 747 for nearly three days straight -- and then did it again. And it did it fueled by nothing but photons and electrons for the entire time. The company's stated goal is to eventually achieve "perpetual" flight, in which the drone would only have to land once it needs maintenance. Skydweller, indeed. The recent tests were conducted by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), the drone's first potential customer. The Navy is interested in what a Skydweller could bring to its operations in Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which encompasses Mexico, Latin America, and all nearby waters. Loaded up with a variety of sensors, a Skydweller could sweep for piracy, drug trafficking, or any other illegal activity. Of course, lots of drones and other aircraft already exist that can do that. Skydweller's party trick is its flight time, which is just outrageously good. For reference, the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, which has a wingspan of 131 feet, can only fly for around 30 hours. The Skydweller's recent tests got as far as 74 hours, per That mostly has to do with how the two are refueled: where the Global Hawk has a turbofan engine that requires good old-fashioned jet fuel, the Skydweller is fully electric... and solar. Read more: Consumer Reports' 10 Best Used Cars Under $20,000 Are A Great Way To Dodge Republican Tariffs Mid-Air Refueling With The Sun While the Air Force does have in-air gas stations, in the form of the KC-135 and the newer KC-46 planes, Global Hawks and other drones are not equipped to receive fuel from them. There is a logic to that: since drones are often operating in hostile areas and hoping to stay undetected, flying a jumbo jet over to it doesn't make a lot of sense. The Global Hawk therefore has to fly back to base to get its petroleum fix. By contrast, the carbon fiber Skydweller has no gas tank at all, but rather 1400 pounds of batteries, fully 25% of the maximum capacity weight. But even better are what's on those enormous wings -- 17,000 solar cells, making 100kW of power. During the day, that's enough to power the four propellors, avionics, and up to 800 pounds of sensor equipment. It's also enough to charge up those batteries, which it then flies on during the night. Recharge mid-air the next day, fly another night; recharge mid-air the next day, fly another night. That's what these recent tests demonstrated. Again, the goal is perpetual flight, and that opens up a whole Pandora's box of opportunities. The Advantages Of Never Landing For the military, the use cases here are pretty clear. Need to observe an enemy base constantly? Have a Skydweller fly in circles nearby forever. Or is there a place where a terrorist commander will probably show up, someday, maybe? Just park a Skydweller there and have it alert you if he ever shows up. Neverending patrols are another good option, as is a kind of backup GPS capability. But Skydweller Aero makes it clear that it has commercial ambitions, too. For example, sensors could be used for scientific research, too. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starlink promises the internet to anyone anywhere, but it's also blinding our telescopes and congesting low earth orbit — it accounts for 60% of all satellites! Skydwellers could hang out in far-flung areas and provide customers with high-speed internet without either of those issues. There's a lot of money to be made in something that never touches the ground. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Coin Geek
19-05-2025
- Coin Geek
US Navy partners with Veridat to commercialize blockchain
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Months ago, the U.S. Navy announced its search for private-sector partners to commercialize a blockchain-based security platform called PARANOID—short for Powerful Authentication Regime Applicable to Naval OFP Integrated Development. Developed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), PARANOID is designed to secure software development environments and verify the integrity of software throughout its lifecycle. With growing concerns over cyber threats and software vulnerabilities in military applications, the Navy was seeking a commercial partner to build and expand PARANOID's capabilities. Shortly afterwards, Veridat secured a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Navy, officially becoming its strategic partner in further developing, integrating and commercializing the PARANOID platform. 'The Navy was looking for a commercialization partner to expand the reach of their initial framework for adoption in additional use cases, and it turns out, we were chosen to do that,' said Robert Huber, founder of Veridat. 'We signed the CRADA with the Navy to co-develop PARANOID and bring it to a wide range of civilian use cases.' Why the Navy needed a blockchain security solution In today's world, software underpins nearly every technology, including the Navy's aircraft and defense systems. This reliance on software makes military assets vulnerable to cyberattacks, as attackers can exploit multiple entry points to manipulate or sabotage critical operations. To combat this risk, the U.S. Navy turned to blockchain technology as a solution, leading to the development of PARANOID, a platform that ensures software integrity by verifying that no unauthorized changes occur throughout the development lifecycle. How PARANOID Works: Blockchain-powered software security At its core, PARANOID functions as an immutable security log, tracking every step in a software development process. Each action—whether it's writing, editing, compiling code, or making modifications in a digital environment—is recorded on the blockchain. This creates a transparent, unalterable history of the software's development. This leaves a PARANOID user with an indestructible logbook that keeps track of who changed what and when. When a software package is ready for deployment, the final product is compared against the blockchain records. If any unauthorized modifications are detected, the system flags the issue and prevents the software from being installed. This approach ensures that companies, governments, and organizations can fully secure their development processes, fortifying their software against tampering. While this is critical in any industry that values security, it is especially crucial in military applications, where even minor software compromises can lead to catastrophic consequences. Expanding Veridat capabilities through PARANOID The Veridat integration of PARANOID enhances its capabilities, transitioning to a continuous, dynamic, real-time process monitoring. 'Up to this point, we were taking snapshots,' said John Giantsidis, CEO of Veridat. 'As we continue to work with the Navy developing our integration, our goal is to capture data in a way that is akin to taking video. This will create a continuous, dynamic, immutable record of any process or transaction.' By shifting from isolated, static data points to a seamless, tamper-proof record, PARANOID could set a new standard for process cyber resiliency and data integrity.' The future of PARANOID beyond military applications While PARANOID was originally built for military defense, its potential applications extend far beyond that. Veridat sees an opportunity to commercialize the technology for any industry where authenticity and security are paramount. Industries such as luxury goods, supply chains, and artificial intelligence (AI) could benefit from PARANOID's end-to-end verification capabilities. But Veridat is optimistic about its potential impact on AI security in particular. 'PARANOID could secure artificial intelligence training workflows,' added Huber. 'It's really about keeping infrastructure secure with accurate monitoring. Being able to do that with AI-based tools that are secured against malicious intrusion would be the gold standard.' The black box problem in AI—the lack of transparency in how AI models make decisions—has become a growing concern. Many AI systems operate as opaque, unexplainable decision-making processes, even to their developers. By implementing an immutable, verifiable log, PARANOID could introduce much-needed transparency into AI model training and deployment. A new standard in trust? In today's digital world, accomplishing complex tasks requires seamless integration of multiple systems, automation, and data-driven decision-making. However, as digital processes become more interconnected, they also become increasingly vulnerable to unauthorized changes, cyber threats, and data manipulation. Ensuring the integrity, authenticity, and security of digital transactions and workflows is critical to maintaining operational efficiency and trust. Organizations risk financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory non-compliance without robust safeguards. These factors increase the need for a comprehensive trust standard that would help establish verifiable and tamper-resistant processes to ensure that digital operations remain secure, transparent, and resilient in the face of evolving threats. According to Huber, this is especially important in AI, where a comprehensive trust standard is needed to safeguard AI integrity within and across systems. 'Our current development project with NAWCAD aims to generate the needed frameworks that can ensure that models function as intended, data remain tamper-proof, and decisions are explainable and auditable. Lacking such safeguards, AI systems could be exploited by fraud, misinformation, or other harmful activities, eroding confidence in AI-driven innovations across industries,' said Huber. NAVAIR Public Release 2025-0291. Distribution A – 'Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.' Watch: Utilizing blockchain tech for data integrity title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
