BAE Systems PHASA-35

The BAE Systems PHASA-35, short for Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft, is a solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicle built for high-altitude, long-endurance flight in the stratosphere. BAE Systems developed it with Prismatic, a company founded by engineers who had earlier worked on the Zephyr high-altitude drone, and BAE later acquired Prismatic as a subsidiary. It is pitched as a cheaper alternative to satellites for surveillance, border control, communications and disaster relief, and is designed to stay aloft for up to a year by using the sun by day and batteries by night. It has a 35-metre wingspan, weighs 150 kilograms and can carry a 15 kilogram payload. It first flew in February 2020 at the Woomera Test Range in Australia, and trials have continued since.