The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is funding 18 projects to develop high-altitude aircraft that can deliver broadband connectivity from the stratosphere, including technology to beam power up from the ground to keep them airborne. The programme, called Enduring Atmospheric Platforms, aims to create high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to orbital satellites for connecting underserved communities in the UK and beyond, addressing physical limits that satellite distance and orbits impose.

ARIA is putting £70 million ($94 million) into the projects over three and a half years, with success measured by whether an aircraft can supply 300 W of power to a communications payload continuously for a week while holding station above the UK. Work spans three areas: enabling technologies, system integration and testing, and deployment. Notable projects include Menapia's Carousel, a constellation of multi-rotor aircraft flying up to 20km altitude; VFP Aerospace's Enduring Drone Networks, targeting a £50,000 production cost per drone; and power-beaming and fuel-cell efforts from firms including Hypanode, Scalable Laser and Space Solar Engineering, alongside a University of Bath project exploring atmospheric gravity waves to extend flight endurance.