# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 30 July 2015 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | Global |
| Language | English |
| Terms matched | drone; drones; aircraft |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| Outlet | BBC News |
| Title | Facebook builds drone for internet access |
| Dateline | 30 July 2015 — Dave Lee, North America technology reporter |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33728704 |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2015-07-30|bbc|facebook-uk-designed-737-wingspan-drone |
| Source grade | B1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — B1]** Dave Lee reported Facebook's announcement that it had built its own internet-connectivity drone with a Boeing 737 wingspan, operating as high as 90,000 feet and staying airborne up to 90 days, offering 10 gigabit-per-second links, to be tested in the U.S. later that year. Jay Parikh, VP of global engineering and infrastructure, said it was designed in the UK by Facebook's aerospace team. Goal: accelerate the development of a new set of technologies that can drastically change the economics of deploying internet infrastructure, not to operate the networks itself. Parikh called a lab-tested laser that could deliver tens of Gb/s to a dime-sized target from more than 10 miles away a significant breakthrough, now moving to real-world tests to connect aircraft to each other and the ground. The page noted Internet.org controversy in India over a free-but-limited walled garden.

**Kinematic object.** Facebook UK-designed HAPS drone, 737-class wingspan, 90,000 ft, 90-day endurance, laser crosslinks.

**Coverage frame.** industry

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original: BBC original of Facebook's hardware announcement with Parikh quotes.
- Wire reprint status: Not a wire reprint.
- What was excluded: 2016 Aquila test-flight accident and 2018 cancellation.

## LRRK relevance

Lab / Sense-Move-Act. Stratospheric long-endurance UAS with laser comms, designed in the UK for U.S. test.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

L-Ne