A solar-powered plane, developed within two years of its announcement, has completed its first test flight in South Australia.

The PHASA-35, designed as part of a collaboration between BAE Systems and Prismatic LTD in June 2018, can climb between 55,000 – 70,000 feet and fly continuously for up to a year using solar and battery technology in the upper regions of Earth’s atmosphere.

It has a wingspan of 35 metres and is covered in solar panels designed to take in sunlight for daytime travel, and batteries powered by stored energy for night flying.

Prismatic commented on the flight on their website: “During this first flight the aerodynamics, propulsion and power efficiency were all demonstrated to be exactly as expected, validating the system performance enabling persistent high-altitude operation.

“Additionally, the aircraft was operated under fully autonomous flight control, including precise landing in the face of significant side winds, demonstrating the fundamental robustness of the PHASA-35 design”.

The plane has been developed alongside the government’s ‘Combat Air Strategy‘, stating that the UK should remain a global leader in the combat air sector.

Ian Muldowney, Engineering Director here at BAE Systems, said: “This is an outstanding early result that demonstrates the pace that can be achieved when we bring the best of British capability together.

“To go from design to flight in less than two years shows that we can rise to the challenge the UK Government has set industry to deliver a Future Combat Air System within the next decade.”

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The plane has several potential applications, such as surveillance, communications, remote sensing and environmental science. Two major areas that the plane could be used is detecting forest fires and maritime science in the advent of climate change.

BAE Systems has said that more test flights are scheduled for later in 2020, with the plane potentially entering “initial operations with customers within 12 months of the flight trials programme completion”.

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