A solar-electric powered drone that can operate above the weather in the stratosphere will be able to relay communications between troops if satellites are wiped out by adversaries operating in space.
The Phasa-35 “pseudo-satellite” can fly as high as 70,000ft for as long as a year and can offer a back-up for pilots if their messages to commanders on the ground or other aircraft are interrupted.
Air Marshal Sir Stuart Atha, a one-time Harrier pilot who was deputy commander of operations in the RAF overseeing space before he retired to join BAE Systems as a director, said: “It used to be that space was a safe place and that’s no longer the case. We can be challenged in space so you have vulnerabilities in