The UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is investing £70m to develop autonomous aircraft that could provide continuous mobile coverage from high above the UK.
The initiative will look to develop aircraft known as high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) that can operate reliably and cost-effectively in the stratosphere. These autonomous, solar-powered gliders would provide high-performance communications infrastructure to support AI and digital services, while extending connectivity to underserved and remote regions.
The stratosphere – the second-lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere extending from an altitude of roughly 10-50km – is being scoped as a location for such infrastructure as it offers a cheaper, low-latency alternative to orbital satellites.
Flying at around 20km above Earth, more than twice the cruising altitude of a commercial passenger jet, the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme will aim to prove whether HAPS are capable of operating persistently in this location...