First flight of drone powered by hydrogen

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) ― A new Boeing unmanned drone that is designed to stay airborne for days has completed its first autonomous flight at Edwards Air Force Base, despite a rocky landing.

Boeing said Monday that the 28-minute flight of the Phantom Eye began at 6:22 a.m. Friday and the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,244 meters and a cruising speed of 114 kph before landing at the California desert base.

Boeing says after touching down, the drone was damaged when the landing gear dug into a lakebed and broke.

The drone is powered by liquid-hydrogen. The company says it can go up to four days in the air without refueling.

Boeing Phantom Works President Darryl Davis hailed the flight as beginning “a new era” of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.