The time airborne and with that the operation radius is limited by the battery life. Provided the case that the sun is shining above the mediterranean sea, solar cells on the wing surface are capable to increase this radius. At ETH Zürich they even build a autonomous rc-plane that can fly through the entire night with the solar energy collected the day before. Thought further it may even be possible to develop a drone which can be launched even from mainland and only needs to return for data transfers and maintenance.

For nearer future the first step is to only increase the range with solar energy.

Author: Nepomuk