BAE Systems has confirmed that its PHASA-35 High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) has successfully undertaken a new series of test flights in quick succession, bringing the system one step closer to being able to harness the stratosphere for earth observation and communications.
During the first flight at Spaceport America in New Mexico, US, the solar-powered aircraft flew for 24 hours climbing to more than 66,000 feet and cruising in the stratosphere, before successfully landing in a serviceable condition, meaning it was ready to fly again just two days later. This is a major milestone in the development of PHASA-35, named after its 35 metre wingspan, demonstrating its ability to be launched, flown, landed, potentially reconfigured and then relaunched again so quickly.
Designed by BAE Systems’ subsidiary Prismatic Ltd to operate above the weather and conventional air traffic, PHASA-35 has the potential to provide a persistent and stable platform for a variety of use cases including ultra-long endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The latest trials also saw the aircraft carry an active software-defined radio system, 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.
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 over twice the onboard solar power generation and storage capacity of 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 this novel technology.
Bob Davidson, CEO of BAE Systems’ Prismatic, commented: “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 of FalconWorks at BAE Systems, noted: “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. They demonstrate the credibility and capability of the system for operational use.”
