Kraus Hamdani Aerospace and PowerLight Technologies sustain the K1000ULE in flight using laser-based wireless power beaming, maintaining continuous ISR operations without ground recovery.
Kraus Hamdani Aerospace (KHA) and PowerLight Technologies demonstrated wireless power beaming to the K1000ULE at Shaw Air Force Base. The AFCENT Battle Lab hosted the event. CENTCOM and the Operational Energy Innovation Directorate (OE-I) sponsored the demonstration.
Wireless Power Beaming Sustains K1000ULE Drone at 5,000 Feet
PowerLight’s mobile autonomous system delivered nearly one kilowatt of power to the K1000ULE at altitudes up to 5,000 feet. The laser-based link maintained ISR capabilities and communications in real-time. PowerLight’s system autonomously acquired, tracked, and transmitted energy while adapting to aircraft movement and environmental conditions.
The K1000ULE holds DoD Blue UAS Cleared List status as a Select Group 2 unmanned aircraft system. The platform recently received a sole-source $270 million IDIQ from U.S. Air Force Central Command for Middle East missions. KHA previously set a 75-hour world-record flight for a Group 2 UAS.
“The K1000ULE is delivering on its core design objective: endurance levels once considered out of reach for traditional fixed-wing aircraft,” said Stefan Kraus, CTO and co-founder of KHA. “Integrating PowerLight’s power beaming capability extends that persistence further and reduces the need to land. That expands the K1000ULE’s ability to maintain continuous coverage in operational environments where interruption is not acceptable.”
Demonstration Points Toward Multi-Month Wireless Power Beaming Operations
Wireless power beaming removes onboard energy storage as the primary endurance constraint. The Shaw demonstration validates the potential for multi-month continuous drone operations in forward, infrastructure-limited environments.
“OECIF recognized the warfighter value of laser power technology before everyone else and stood by it as the first and primary investor, beginning nearly a decade ago,” said RuthAnne Darling of the Operational Energy Capabilities Improvement Fund (OECIF), Department of War. “Developing technologies such as this not only benefits the warfighter, but it enables new industries inside the Defense industrial base and creates commercial opportunities. We expect high-energy laser power beaming to continue to advance, and serve as a stepping stone to what will eventually become Golden Dome.”
“The Shaw demonstrations validated the core system and established a roadmap for scaling this capability from a single transmitter to a distributed network,” said Tim Jenks, CEO of PowerLight Technologies. “That includes higher power output, greater altitude and range, and the ability to sustain multiple aircraft simultaneously across a theater.”
More information is available at Kraus Hamdani Aerospace and PowerLight Technologies.
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