Can Fly Up To A Year, This Drone In The UK Relies On Solar Power

Solar power allows the PHASA-35 to stay airborne for up to a year and at an altitude of 65,000 feet. (photo: BAE Systems)

JAKARTA - British aerospace company BAE Systems has just developed an unmanned aircraft (drone) dubbed the PHASA-35, which will fly longer than regular drones in the stratosphere.

The stratosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is not burdened by other aircraft or satellites. PHASA-35 stands for Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft, while the number 35 means its wingspan in meters, which is 115 feet, as wide as a Boeing 737.

Setting it apart from the rest, this drone will run on an electric solar-powered engine during the day, and a lithium-ion battery at night. The drones are designed to fly at an altitude of about 65,000 feet in the stratosphere, the layer between Earth's atmosphere and space.

In comparison, conventional aircraft do not fly higher than 42,000 feet. Because the air there is about a thousand times thinner than that closer to Earth, the plane's wings have to be very long to stay in the air.

However, thanks to solar power it allows the PHASA-35 to stay airborne for up to a year and at an altitude of 65,000 feet, above all traffic and most weather. This drone has a low speed, only about 15 to 30 miles per hour

"It lasts for a long time and it can seem far away. Those are two real key attributes for a surveillance platform," said flight advisor for BAE Systems, Drew Steel, as quoted by Popsci, Monday, November 1.

The PHASA-35 was originally designed at the British company Primastic. Later, it was acquired by BAE Systems. Prismatic is known to have built two PHASA-35 concept aircraft in just two years.

However, the PHASA-35 is not designed to replace satellites, as it can only carry 33 pounds of payload, such as an 8-inch camera. This means that the PHASA-35 can observe the movement of people, vehicles, ships or aircraft that may be of interest to the military. But the system is also of interest to civic organizations that need to monitor something like oil leaks or forest fires.

"You're going to need a few of these planes up there, spread out over different zones, because they don't fly fast, around 30 mph, so it might take a few days for someone to get to their mission position. Once there, it will fly the appropriate flight path and can even be still," Steel said.

"If the mission is to look at a small swath and there's a wind of 10 knots (11.51 mph), for example, we can slow the plane down to 10 knots, and then it will stand still."