PowerLight receives expanded investment from Department of War for laser-based wireless power beaming

PowerLight Technologies, a leader in safe, long-distance laser power beaming, today announced a follow-on award from the Department of War's (DOW) Operational Energy - Innovation (OE-I) Directorate to advance a field-deployable Aerial ReCharge (ARC) system. The system uses laser power beaming to recharge unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or their payloads in flight. The effort builds on ARC development under the PTROL-UAS programme and the April 2026 demonstration at Shaw Air Force Base.

"Power beaming means more time on mission and less time on the ground, " OE-I Combat Power Portfolio Lead Chris DePuma said. "By enabling autonomous, in-flight recharging, the Aerial ReCharge system reduces the need to land and swap batteries, extending mission endurance and reducing risk in contested environments."

UAS battery life is measured in hours, and every recovery cycle forces operators to break cover, swap batteries, and relaunch in contested environments. ARC removes the need for landing. When an aircraft's battery reaches a defined threshold, it can initiate a handshake with the autonomous ARC transmitter and recharge in flight before resuming its mission.

In this work, the ARC receiver is integrated into a Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000ULE, a Blue UAS Cleared platform operating under a May 2026 U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) IDIQ rapid deployment contract valued at up to $270 million. With AFCENT providing the platform and pilots, ARC is being matured on an aircraft operators already fly. PowerLight's engineering and test team is embedded at Shaw AFB, developing CONOPS and collecting data with AFCENT mission planners and operators during field testing to support transition to theater.

"This new DOW award reflects confidence in where wireless power beaming is today and in the operators who are shaping it," said Tim Jenks, CEO, PowerLight. "Power beaming applies well beyond a single domain, from ground-to-ground, ground-to-air, air-to-air, and space-to-space, and that is the opportunity ahead."