Solar plane flies into the night

A lightweight solar-powered plane has smashed the official world record for the longest-duration unmanned flight.

UK defence firm QinetiQ, which built the Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle, said it flew for 54 hours during tests.

The researchers believe it is the first time a solar-powered craft has flown under its own power through two nights.

The previous unmanned endurance record was set in 2001 by a jet-powered US Air Force Global Hawk

surveillance aircraft which flew for more than 30 hours.