Revolution in aviation: stratospheric aircraft are coupling!

Revolution in aviation: stratospheric aircraft are coupling!

An exciting project is currently being worked on in Brandenburg that could revolutionize the way we communicate and collect information in the stratosphere. The Wildau University of Technology develops innovative concepts for high-flying unmanned platforms, also known as High-altitude platform stations (HAPS). These platforms are intended to operate at an altitude of around 20 kilometers and take on tasks such as communication, earth observation and military reconnaissance. How Flight review reports, the project has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2025.

A central goal of HAPS is to find solutions that offer similar services to artificial satellites, but can work more flexibly and cost-effectively. The challenges are considerable: the aircraft not only have to be light and have a long wingspan, but they also have to climb turbulently through the troposphere. This design is crucial because many previous projects failed due to the extreme loads on the long, delicate wings.

Innovative approaches to construction

Project leader Prof. Alexander Köthe has developed an interesting, novel approach to overcome these hurdles. He plans to have several rugged individual aircraft ascend separately and couple in the stratosphere. This coupling process is a demanding task because it creates massive wake turbulence and complex forces. To meet this challenge, the research team uses multi-agent systems (MAS) for decentralized control of the aircraft.

Each aircraft has its own controller that communicates wirelessly and exchanges data about position and forces. Should a controller fail, the affected aircraft can be removed from the formation without endangering the entire project. Another focus of the project is on the mathematical modeling of energy-efficient trajectories, as the aircraft have to be guided exactly to the network - lateral displacement would hardly be possible in the stratosphere.

Practical experiments and future developments

In order to validate the theoretical approaches, practical experiments with small drones are planned. The aim is to develop a highly accurate simulation environment that makes it possible to test the models under realistic conditions. Loud Wikipedia HAPS can also be used to monitor environmental changes, weather conditions and to provide communications services. Applications range from weather monitoring to earth photography to disaster response.

The development of HAPS is currently undergoing an exciting transformation. Various companies and institutions, including international providers such as Northrop Grumman with its RQ-4 Global Hawk, are pursuing similar goals. Application areas are rich and vary from military reconnaissance to 5G connectivity, as shown by the example of the Mira Aerospace ApusDuo, which successfully transmitted data from the stratosphere as recently as October 2023.

The Brandenburg project has the potential to not only advance the technology of aviation, but also to bring about fundamental changes in the way we think about air surveillance and communications in the age of modern technologies. Stay tuned because something big could happen here in the coming years.