PowerLight wins expanded Pentagon backing for laser power beaming

PowerLight Technologies said Oct. 8 it received a follow-on award from the Department of War to mature its Aerial ReCharge system for in-flight charging of unmanned aircraft. The work aims to cut battery swap cycles, extend mission endurance and move the laser power beaming system closer to field deployment.

Why it matters: - The award pushes laser-based wireless charging closer to real-world military use. - In-flight recharging could let unmanned aircraft stay airborne longer and avoid risky landings to swap batteries. - The effort also points to broader use cases for power beaming across air, ground and space.

What happened: - PowerLight Technologies announced a follow-on award from the Department of War’s Operational Energy - Innovation Directorate on Oct. 8, 2026. - The award supports development of a field-deployable Aerial ReCharge, or ARC, system. - ARC uses laser power beaming to recharge unmanned aircraft systems, or their payloads, while they are in flight. - The work builds on ARC development under the PTROL-UAS program and an April 2026 demonstration at Shaw Air Force Base.

The details: - UAS battery life is measured in hours, and recovery cycles force operators to land, swap batteries and relaunch. - ARC is designed to remove that landing step. - When an aircraft battery reaches a set threshold, the system can initiate a handshake with an autonomous ARC transmitter and recharge in flight before the aircraft resumes its mission. - The ARC receiver is being integrated into a Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000ULE. - The K1000ULE is a Blue UAS Cleared platform operating under a May 2026 U.S. Air Forces Central IDIQ rapid deployment contract valued at up to $270 million. - AFCENT is providing the platform and pilots. - PowerLight’s engineering and test team is embedded at Shaw Air Force Base. - The team is developing concepts of operations and collecting data with AFCENT mission planners and operators during field testing. - PowerLight said that work is intended to support transition to theater. - PowerLight says ARC was developed and demonstrated under sponsorship from OE-I’s Operational Energy Prototyping Fund. - The company says ARC can beam power to UAS and other remote assets, supporting persistent operations without batteries or physical power links. - PowerLight says the platform-agnostic system can integrate across UAS classes, from Group 2 fixed-wing platforms to larger aircraft carrying heavier sensor or effects payloads. - PowerLight says the technology also provides a foundation for directed energy counter-UAS applications. - More information is available in PowerLight’s announcement.

Between the lines: - The Pentagon backing suggests wireless power beaming is moving from demonstration toward operational testing. - Embedding the system on an aircraft operators already fly lowers friction for adoption. - The timing also fits a larger push to improve endurance for contested-environment missions where every landing adds risk.

What's next: - PowerLight will continue field testing with AFCENT at Shaw Air Force Base. - The company will keep maturing CONOPS and gathering operator data for a potential theater transition. - The ARC effort is likely to inform whether laser charging can scale beyond a demo into a deployable capability. - PowerLight CEO Tim Jenks said the company sees opportunities for power beaming beyond a single domain, including ground-to-ground, ground-to-air, air-to-air and space-to-space applications.

The bottom line: - The new award gives PowerLight a stronger path to turn laser power beaming into a practical military capability, starting with in-flight UAS recharge.