Said it before, but electrification allows old ideas to be revisited in ways that were simply not feasible prior... as this maritime cargo drone that Hopflyt has developed amply demonstrates.
Tunnel or channel wings are not new, but were previously married to conventional reciprocating aero-engines and the problem was ~ and remains ~ the fact there is no easy way to fix a conventional engine to what is effectively a missing wing-spar.
The trick with the model above is that the inverted-arch section of the wing vectors along with the motor (around the spar) for hovering flight; meaning that allied with an onboard turbine generator, the aircraft is ideal to meet logistical tasks at sea.
Expect to see more of such generators whilst awaiting ongoing improvements to the energy density of batteries, incidentally. They can already be purchased online from Chinese retail platforms, and will undoubtedly evolve themselves as a short-term fix that may (like much else) prove to be a long-term remedy to range and endurance issues bedevilling electrical drones used offshore.
