{"id":9813,"date":"2015-04-02T16:45:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T23:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=9813"},"modified":"2015-04-02T16:45:54","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T23:45:54","slug":"facebook-air-force-faces-googles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/facebook-air-force-faces-googles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Facebook Air Force Faces Off with Google\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday, while waiting for Bertrand Piccard to land Solar Impulse 2 in Chongqing, China, Andre\u2019 Borschberg tweeted, \u201cCongratulations to Yael Maguire’s team on their first test flight with #Aquila<\/a>, taking Mark’s vision to a new level.\u201d \u201cMark\u201d refers to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, and Aquila refers to a 737-size, solar-powered drone that will be capable of months-long flights, bringing Internet access to billions who lack connectivity today.<\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>

Test flights of Aquila are currently being held in England, although it’s hard to tell if this is a full-size prototype<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the Christian Science Monitor<\/i><\/a>, \u201cAt this week\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>F8 developers conference<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Facebook<\/a>\u00a0has highlighted exactly how far the company is looking to expand beyond its social-network roots.<\/span> \u201cOn Thursday, the tech giant\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that it had completed the first test flights for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, in the United Kingdom.\u201d The New York Times reports that the Aquila weighs as much as a small car and has a wingspan of 95 feet, slightly larger than a Boeing 737.\u00a0 Developers say it can maintain flight at 60,000 to 90,000 feet for three months at a time, beaming Internet connections via laser beams.<\/p>\n