US navy developing solar powered plane that can fly for 90 days

The US Navy is developing a solar aircraft which can reportedly remain in the sky for up to 90 days to serve as a surveillance tool and potentially as a communications platform.

New Scientist reported that the US-Spanish aerospace firm Skydweller Aero was given a $5m contract to develop the plane.

The aircraft will be built on an upgraded piece of solar powered hardware called Solar Impulse 2.

An early version of the aircraft completed a global flight in 2015, but had to make stops to do so due to the human pilot's need to rest.