Originally published on August 17, 2013

A new small solar powered surveillance and reconnaissance drone that can stay in the air for up to 9 hours will be ready for production early next year after successful testing.

Manufactured by Aerovironment, the solar Puma AE unmanned drone has a wingspan of 9.2 feet and features ultra-thin Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) solar cells on its wings.

The Puma can be assembled and launched within 5 minutes. The solar panels extend its maximum flight time from 2 hours up to 9 hours.

It's gimbaled electro-optical and Infrared camera allows operators to track moving vehicles.

When its mission is complete the drone will automatically return to within 25 of a pre-determined GPS location and shut off it's engine.

The Puma AE has been employed by the United States military for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes since 2008.

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