NATIONAL Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, has unveiled a remarkable deep technology innovation known as the High Altitude Platform (HAP) vehicle. This ground-breaking creation, a solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with beyond Visual Line of Sight operation capability, is poised to be a game-changer, serving as a pseudo satellite.
This development marks a significant milestone for India, positioning the nation among the top contenders in high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) technology, following South Korea and the United Kingdom (UK). Operating at altitudes ranging from 18 to 20 kilometres, the HAP offers consistent aerial surveillance and monitoring capabilities, harnessing solar power for propulsion and operation.
NAL scientists conducted a series of successful flight trials for a sub-scale model of the HAPS, a lightweight, solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The 10-day testing period, held between January 23 and February 2 exceeded expectations. The trials meticulously replicated real-world conditions, including all necessary payloads and flight systems.
Dr. Abhay A. Pashilkar, Director of CSIRNAL, said, “The HAPS stands for High Altitude Platform System and this is meant for persistent surveillance at about between 18 to 20 kilometres. This has both military as well as civilian applications and the specialty of this particular vehicle is that it poses a great deal of challenges in all aspects of aeronautics, particularly aerodynamics.”
Shedding light on the significance of HAPs in the aerospace landscape, Dr. L Venkatakrishnan, Program Director, said: “A high altitude platform is essentially an unmanned aerial vehicle stationed at an altitude of 20 km above the earth’s surface (in the stratosphere) to form part of a telecommunication or earth observation network. This altitude is so chosen so as to be above normal flight corridors and above the weather.”
Explaining the unique advantages of HAPs over traditional satellites and UAVs, he said, “HAPs combine the geographical persistence of a geostationary satellite with the flexibility of re-tasking and redeployment of an aircraft. This makes them unique in capability and fills an existing gap between aircraft and satellite.
