After 20 months of design and development, the Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA-35) has PHASA-35 takes off for the first flight. Source: BAE Systemscompleted its inaugural flight. The unmanned aerial platform demonstrated in South Australia is engineered for service in the stratosphere, including military, surveillance, communications and remote sensing applications.

The 35 m wingspan craft harnesses solar energy during the day and switches to battery power at night. PHASA-35 could be launched to fly missions with durations of up to one year. Its design and function are engineered to fill the aerial void between satellite and aircraft technologies.

PHASA-35 was built by BAE Systems and Prismatic Ltd in an initiative sponsored by the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Australian Defence Science and Technology Group.