Powerlight’s Laser Power Beaming System Keeps a Drone in the Air for Hours During Pentagon Test Flights

PowerLight Technologies recently completed a series of Pentagon-backed flight demonstrations testing wireless laser power transmission for long-endurance unmanned aircraft operations. Conducted at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, the demonstrations paired the company’s power beaming system with a Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000ULE fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system.

During the flights, the K1000ULE operated at altitudes up to 5,000 feet while receiving power through an infrared laser beam in real time. The demonstrations evaluated precision tracking, beam delivery, and sustained airborne operations using wireless energy transfer technology.

The tests were conducted as part of the Power Transmitted Over Laser to Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (PTROL-UAS) program, supported by U.S. Central Command and the Department of Defense’s Operational Energy – Innovation Directorate. The effort reflects continued interest in technologies that could extend unmanned aircraft endurance for persistent surveillance, communications, and distributed operations.

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Story by Alan Boyle