BAE Systems scores PHASA-35 successes

The PHASA-35 in the launch/recovery phase of its recent successful stratospheric flight trials conducted in the US. (BAE Systems)

BAE Systems has announced a number of flight tests successes for its Persistent High-Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA)-35 high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS), ahead of new aircraft joining the development programme in 2025.

The UK company said on 19 December that a recent test out of Spaceport America in New Mexico, United States, had seen the solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fly for 24 hours, operating in the stratosphere at 66,000 ft. The aircraft then landed in a serviceable condition before being turned around for further flight two days later.

“This is a major milestone in the development of PHASA-35 … demonstrating its ability to be launched, flown, landed, potentially reconfigured, and then relaunched again so quickly,” BAE Systems said.

As noted in the announcement, the latest trials also saw the UAV carry an active intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) 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.

These flights in the White Sands Missile Range were sponsored by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Technical Center.

News of the milestones came months after BAE Systems told Janes in June that it is building two additional PHASA-35 UAVs to add to its development fleet in 2025.