Facebook scraps internet-beaming drone project; to hunt for other ways

Aquila drone served as a visible symbol of innovation at a company where all of the most important work usually happens behind the scenes

Facebook Inc's days of dabbling in aerospace engineering are over.

The company said in a blog post-Tuesday it will no longer design or build its own aircraft to beam internet connectivity over regions with limited access, a project it has been working on since 2014. Facebook is also closing its facility in the U.K. that managed drone design, development and testing. The social network was able to build and test the drone, called Aquila, but never managed to deploy it.

Facebook said there are now other companies in aerospace that are investing in the same kind of technology. So it’s