But what if military drones never had to land? For decades, endurance-the time spent flying-has been the Achilles heel of electric unmanned aircraft: batteries drain, fuel runs out, and missions get cut short. A new wave of laser power-beaming technology is rewriting that rulebook-and the implications for defense operations are profound.
Meanwhile, a series of the most recent tests conducted by a Washington-based startup and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense demonstrated that it had successfully refueled drones in mid-air with high-energy laser beams. This is not science fiction, but rather it has been carefully engineered into an instrument of precision, safety, and resilience for the battlefield. Successful trials are an important step toward the “infinite flight” of unmanned aerial systems and could potentially change the game for missions from surveillance and communications to logistics.
1. A Wireless Power Line in the Sky
The architecture primarily consists of a high-power laser transmitter with a lightweight airborne receiver. Put together, according to PowerLight Technologies, they form a kind of “wireless power line” capable of delivering a kilowatt-class energy level over several miles to drones at altitude. The transmitter locks onto the aircraft, tracking its velocity and vector, directing energy precisely where it’s needed for efficient in-flight charging.
2. Hitting 5,000 Feet with Precision
During the most recent series of PTROL-UAS trials, the laser system effectively powered aircraft flying as high as 5,000 feet, or 1,524 meters. That altitude capability keeps operational drones well above most ground threats while receiving continuous energy-a critical factor for long-endurance intelligence and reconnaissance missions.
3. Six-Pound Airborne Receiver
Onboard, the 2.7-kilogram receiver features proprietary laser power converters that can capture the non-visible laser energy and convert it to electricity. Given such a compact design, this has an extremely minimal effect on the payload and hence is easily integratable into such platforms as ultra-long-endurance drones like K1000ULE without affecting their aerodynamics or mission equipment.
4. Safety Systems That Outperform Industry Norms
Past experiments at power-beaming have often posed serious safety risks. By contrast, the PTROL-UAS system has numerous automated safety interlocks.”The safety systems make it effectively impossible for anyone to be exposed to hazardous levels of energy,” said U.S. Naval Research Laboratory engineer Paul Jaffe. Sensors detect foreign objects before they enter the beam, and the beam shuts off in an instant until it determines the path is clear.
5. Intelligent Mesh Energy Network
Beyond mere point-to-point transmission, PowerLight CTO Tom Nugent describes the vision as a “intelligent mesh energy network capability.” That might enable any number of transmitters to pass power seamlessly among drones for continuous coverage across enormous areas of operation with no single point of failure.
6. Combat Beam Control
The transmitter is designed to be mobile and forward-deployed, merging beam control software with hardware capable of sustaining continuous high-energy output. It actively tracks and locks onto friendly aerial targets, maintaining alignment even in dynamic flight conditions-something critical for military environments where mobility and precision are non-negotiable.
7. Lessons from Historic Demonstrations
First, the PTROL program tapped into decades of research, from Raytheon’s 1975 trials to the NASA Goldstone Station experiments. The successful 2019 demonstration at the US Naval Research Laboratory sent 400 watts across 325 meters to illuminate lights, power laptops, and even a coffeemaker-a proof that the core physics and safety protocols could scale to airborne applications.
8. Partnering for Persistent Missions
PowerLight is integrating the system on Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s ultra-long endurance K1000ULE “A platform that does not have to land to refuel or recharge is a platform that never blinks,” said CEO Fatema Hamdani. For the Navy and Army, the translation would be days, or even weeks, of unbroken on-station times for surveillance and communications assets.
9. Path to Infinite Flight
With subsystem testing complete, fully integrated flight trials are set for early 2026. These will aim to demonstrate continuous in-flight charging under operationally representative conditions-a controlled proof of concept for effectively unlimited endurance. If successful, the technology could redefine unmanned operations much as aerial refueling transformed manned aviation.
Laser power beaming is moving from lab curiosity to field-ready capability. By integrating precision optics, advanced safety systems, and intelligent energy networking, the PTROL-UAS program is charting a course toward drones that can stay aloft indefinitely. To the defense planners and aerospace engineers, this isn’t just an incremental upgrade; this is a strategic shift in how persistent aerial presence can be achieved.
