Facebook on Tuesday said it was no longer building its passenger jet-sized drones that provide wireless internet to the developing world.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said it is closing its facility in England, which was meant to develop developing next-generation connectivity technologies like Aquila.

According to a Business Insider report, about 747-sized drones were being developed at the facility and 16 employees have been laid off. The drones would have been self-flying, shooting lasers back at the ground that would provide internet access.

Facebook started the Aquila program back in 2014 with an aim to provide wireless internet via aircraft to the parts of the world without traditional connectivity infrastructure.

"To increase our chances of success we took on every part of our aircraft's design, development, and testing, work that was led by our team in Bridgwater, UK. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to demonstrate that an aircraft of this design was viable — with two successful full-scale test flights, including a textbook landing on “Aquila beach," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company said it wasn't abandoning these efforts entirely. It will now focus on building specific components like batteries and control computers for other aerial vehicles, though it will no longer build these aircraft itself.