1. An autonomous modular flyer operable to loiter over an area of interest at a first high altitude, comprising: a solar-electric powered airborne object having two wings, each wing having an upper wing surface having a photovoltaic array thereon exposed to solar flux during flight of the autonomous modular flyer and a wingtip, the wingtips being operably joinable to at least one other solar-electric powered autonomous modular flyer's wingtips to form an aggregation when a first predetermined condition is met, and being operably disaggregable from the at least one other autonomous modular flyer's wingtips when a second predetermined condition is met; the aggregation forming an autonomous solar-electric powered multiple-articulated flying system having a high aspect ratio wing platform, operable to loiter over the area of interest at an altitude at least as high as the first high altitude, each autonomous modular flyer in the aggregation being of the same type; and means for controlling the number of autonomous modular flyers of the autonomous multiple-articulated flying system based on the amount of solar flux to which the photovoltaic arrays are exposed.