Beamed Power Could Keep Solar Aircraft Aloft in Winter | Aviation International News

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Beamed Power Could Keep Solar Aircraft Aloft in Winter

BAE Systems unit gets $21.2 million to test the idea with PHASA-35

PHASA-35 — The PHASA-35, developed by BAE Systems subsidiary Prismatic, can carry up to 15 kilograms of payload for surveillance, communications, and Earth observation missions.

By Hanneke Weitering • Science & Technology Editor

September 17, 2026

The UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has awarded a £15.7 million ($21.2 million) contract to Prismatic, a BAE Systems subsidiary, to test whether a ground-based energy beam can keep a solar-powered stratospheric aircraft flying around the clock—including through dark northern hemisphere winters. Announced on September 15, the contract calls for Prismatic to use its PHASA-35 uncrewed aircraft as the flight demonstrator.

Solar-powered high-altitude pseudosatellites such as PHASA-35 recharge their batteries during daylight to stay aloft overnight—a limitation at higher latitudes during winter, when days are short. Prismatic contends that beaming power to the aircraft from the ground would eliminate that constraint, enabling continuous flight for months at a time.

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