Today, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense and Aerostar announced an expansion of their Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to include additional capabilities from Persistent Systems, LLC (“Persistent”).
This expansion culminated in the launch of a second joint Internal Research and Development (IRAD) stratospheric test flight that will enable continued testing of hardened communications systems. These can be used to support ISR sensor collection and network extension missions from the stratosphere, which both companies are working to operationalize. Aerostar offers a series of stratospheric High Altitude Balloon Systems and Airbus is leading the field of stratospheric fixed wing systems with its Zephyr HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellite / High Altitude Platform Station).
Launched Feb. 6, 2025, from Sioux Falls, S.D., IRAD Flight HBAL717 is currently operating over the Pacific Ocean. This flight includes an Aerostar Thunderhead Stratospheric Balloon system, satellite communication terminals hardened by Airbus U.S. engineers, and Persistent’s networking system and over-the-horizon Cloud Relay™ technology.
“Each of our companies brings something special to the table and we’re united in the quest to operationalize the stratosphere in a complimentary fashion,” said Fabian Kluessendorf, Airbus U.S. UAS Engineering Director. “Ultimately, the goal of this flight is to test the integration, encryption, backhaul, and routing of ISR traffic to government cloud systems from anywhere on the globe. On top of this it will pave the way for trusted payload-automation using onboard AI/ML capabilities. Our technology will be tested and qualified for operations through a long-duration stratospheric flight.”
Prior to the flight, a cross functional team of engineers from all three companies worked together to rapidly prototype variants of their hardware for future stratospheric balloon or fixed-wing flights.
“Stratospheric platforms are the most cost-effective, long-duration, persistent flight vehicles in service today. Aerostar continues to invest R&D dollars into integrating warfighter-relevant end-to-end solutions for resilient communications and ISR collection in critical, contested theaters,” said Russ Van Der Werff, Aerostar’s VP of Stratospheric Solutions.
“Persistent Systems is proud to partner with Airbus and Aerostar to integrate, test, and deploy advanced network solutions in support of the Warfighter. By leveraging both our Cloud Relay technology and Wave Relay® mobile ad hoc network (MANET), our government end-users will gain enhanced ISR and network-extension capabilities,” said Tom Jennings, Director of Business Development at Persistent Systems. “The swift and effective collaboration between Airbus, Aerostar, and Persistent Systems underscores the commitment and agility of all stakeholders, and we are look forward to continued partnership and innovation.”
Airbus, with the Zephyr platform designed and manufactured by its subsidiary AALTO, is a leader in stratospheric fixed wing aircraft; Aerostar has long tenure of balloon stratospheric operations for U.S. government customers; and Persistent is a leading vendor of scalable MANET devices and networking solutions for interoperability.
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