Aircraft
BAE Systems Invests In Solar-Powered ‘Pseudo-Satellite’
The OEM has partnered with small British company Prismatic to develop a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV.
Paul Brooks, managing director of Prismatic Ltd (left) and Michael Christie, strategy director, BAE Systems Air Sector (right) sign their partnership agreement. (Photo: BAE Systems)
Paul Brooks, managing director of Prismatic Ltd (left) and Michael Christie, strategy director, BAE Systems Air Sector (right) sign their partnership agreement. (Photo: BAE Systems)

BAE Systems says that a new solar electric UAV that has the potential to fly for up to a year before needing maintenance “has taken a step closer to reality” following its newly agreed partnership with Prismatic, a small British company that specializes in this technology. The key employees of Prismatic, including founder and managing director Paul Brooks, all previously helped to develop the Zephyr high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS). The new partnership appears to directly compete with the Zephyr project, which has been owned by Airbus Defence & Space since 2013.