Boeing is working to broaden the offerings of its Unmanned Airborne Systems division through development of a surveillance aircraft — powered by a hydrogen-fueled Ford compact truck engine — that will be able to loiter at high altitudes for up to four days.
The Phantom Eye prototype, now being assembled by Boeing Phantom Works in St. Louis in collaboration with the Kent, Wash.-based Unmanned Airborne Systems unit, is to fly in early 2011, said Phantom Works spokesman Chris Haddox.