BAE Systems has completed a round of flight tests with its Phasa 35 stratospheric drone, crucially demonstrating its ability to be launched, flown, landed and relaunched again quickly.
Designed to operate as a high-altitude, long-endurance surveillance and reconnaissance platform the aircraft – defined as a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) – has been designed by BAE Systems subsidiary Prismatic, a division of the company’s FalconWorks R&D arm.
Alongside reconnaissance, the aircraft has the potential to be used to deliver communications networks for a range of applications, such as disaster relief and border protection, as a cost-effective alternative to traditional airborne and satellite systems.
Phasa 35 has a 35m (115ft) wingspan and a payload carrying capacity of up to 15kg (33 lbs), The HAPS drone makes use of a range of technologies including advanced composites, thermal management, and photo-voltaic arrays to provide energy during the day which is stored in high performance rechargeable cells to maintain flight overnight.
During the first flight at Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA the solar powered aircraft flew for 24 hours climbing to more than 66,000ft and cruising in the stratosphere, before successfully landing in a serviceable condition, meaning it was ready to fly again just two days later.
The latest trials also saw the aircraft carry an active intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor, known as a software defined radio, developed by BAE Systems’ Digital Intelligence business. This weighed more than twice as much as the previous payload it had flown to the stratosphere with.
Bob Davidson, CEO, BAE Systems’ Prismatic, said: “These latest flight trials are a significant step forward in proving PHASA-35’s capability for operations and a real moment of pride for our entire team. We’re committed to continuing to develop PHASA-35 at pace to make it available for operational activity as soon as 2026.”
Dave Holmes, Managing Director, FalconWorks, BAE Systems, said: “These latest trials draw on a huge amount of collaboration between Prismatic, the wider BAE Systems business and industry partners, including Honeywell and the UK Met Office.
At Prismatic’s site in Alton, Hampshire, UK the PHASA-35 team has now built the next iteration of PHASA-35. The new model has more than twice the onboard solar power generation and storage capacity than the current version. These modifications are expected to allow it to demonstrate stratospheric missions of increasing duration and complexity from next year onwards.
The PHASA-35 team will now use data from these most recent trials to further improve and mature the technology.
