[lord_ring_111]

Seems rational. I would not count on fb being abke to compete with fulltime airplane design companies when they started focusing on it. Fb instigated the market, others who are more capable are picking it up, so fb handed over the batton.

[mygo]

how often does a company build entire research and development facilities and lobby regulators and be the first movers... just to instigate a market? If competition is the problem they’re not even acquiring a single company? And if it’s just insufficient tech instead of worry over competition, Facebook usually has no problem acquiring what it can’t develop. They even acquired oculus to step into VR. It would appear that there’s more to it than just that.

[lern_too_spel]

They didn't want to make an Internet drone. They wanted to make a Facebook drone. When Facebook Internet.org failed, this was sure to follow.

[lorenzobr]

I think it would be difficult for Facebook to acquire Airbus :) http://www.airbus.com/defence/uav/zephyr.html