UK Stratospheric HAPS Project Enters Next Phase
Janes.com, October 2, 2023 - The UK has selected two companies – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Airbus subsidiary AALTO – to compete in the second phase of Project Aether, Janes learnt.
Project Aether is a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) programme that seeks an unmanned stratospheric ultra-persistent communication and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability or high altitude platform station (HAPS).
The second phase will see SNC's high altitude balloon (HAB) and AALTO's Zephyr 8 fixed-wing higher than air (HTA) aircraft fly in 2024 for a minimum of 30 days in the North America and Atlantic area, a spokesperson from the Aether programme told Janes on 26 September.
