"To do long range, long endurance flight, a drone really needs to be a fixed-wing design, since there's just no way to get the kind of efficiency you need out of a rotorcraft. Once you've accepted this, you have to start figuring out how to make the kinds of compromises that fixed-wing aircraft demand: namely, launch and landing. Launching is difficult because a fixed wing drone needs to be clear of the ground for its prop to work and also needs a certain amount of velocity to get airborne.
"Dealing with these compromises often involves stuff like catapults and nets, which are impractical for long term autonomy. Other options include hybrids like tailsitters or drones with wings as well as extra props to let them take off and land vertically.
These systems, however, are complicated and inefficient, and you still have to figure out how reliably get them to find places to safely land. SUWAVE manages to solve all of these problems by going aquatic."
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