What if a drone never had to land to swap batteries? Engineers in the United States are trying to get very close to that idea, using high-power invisible laser beams from the ground to keep military drones charged while they fly.
The technology promises what its creators call “infinite flight” and could one day transform everything from battlefield surveillance to environmental monitoring. Laser-powered “infinite flight” drones put sustainability in the spotlight
Wireless laser power beaming for military drones
The system comes from PowerLight Technologies and the Pentagon-backed PTROL UAS program. According to a recent company press release, engineers have tested an end-to-end laser power beaming setup that sends kilowatt-class power from a mobile ground transmitter to a lightweight receiver on a drone, over distances of several kilometers and up to about 5,000 feet in altitude.
The system is being integrated into the electric K1000ULE drone built by Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, already used in missions for the US Navy and US Army. Fully-integrated flight tests are planned for early 2026.
How wireless drone charging works with laser technology
On the ground, a trailer-sized unit draws power from batteries or the grid and converts it into a tightly-focused, non-visible laser beam. Advanced optics and software track the drone in real time, constantly nudging the beam so it stays locked on the moving aircraft while safety systems stand ready to cut the power if something crosses the path.
In company tests, the transmitter sustained high-power delivery while following a drone-sized target at altitude.
Onboard the drone, a 2.7 kilogram receiver turns that laser light back into electricity using specially tuned photovoltaic cells, then feeds the energy into the batteries.
An embedded controller reports temperature, power levels and flight data back to the transmitter and can even support two-way optical communication. In simple terms, it creates a kind of “wireless power line in the sky” that moves with the aircraft.
Environmental applications of persistent electric drones
Why does this matter for the environment? For agencies that watch forests, oceans or city air, persistent electric drones are incredibly attractive. A laser-topped drone could sit quietly above a wildfire front, track an oil spill along a coastline, or sample ozone and fine particles over a congested highway without constant landings and battery swaps.
Coverage from New Atlas notes that the same platforms could help with search and rescue, pipeline inspection, traffic management and air pollution monitoring in dense urban areas.
Energy efficiency, safety and wildlife protection
There is a catch. “Infinite flight” does not mean zero impact. Optical wireless power transmission is still less efficient than a cable, since electricity is converted to light and back again, with losses at every step and additional penalties from turbulence and haze in the air.
Industrial researchers point out that improving the overall efficiency of laser-based power links remains one of the main technical challenges before such systems can be widely deployed.
A look at early commercial indoor laser chargers gives a sense of scale. One system that beams infrared power to smart locks reports an efficiency of roughly fifteen percent compared with a wired connection.
If future drone systems show similar numbers, then keeping an aircraft aloft for days would mean drawing more energy from the grid than a simple cable charge, even if it avoids truck trips to swap fuel or batteries. At the end of the day, what matters is where that extra electricity comes from.
Safety and ecology are tightly linked here as well. High-power beams have to protect birds, pilots and people on the ground. The company stresses a multi-layer safety architecture with active tracking, automatic shutoffs and strict controls intended to keep stray light within safe limits, especially in mixed civilian and military airspace.
If those protections work as advertised, they could limit harm to wildlife that shares the sky with these machines.
Climate impact of laser-powered drone systems
All of this shows why “infinite flight” is both exciting and complicated. The same technology that keeps military drones over a battlefield could someday help scientists watch glaciers, coral reefs or city smog without burning jet fuel.
Whether it becomes an ally for the climate or another heavy draw on the electric bill will depend on how clean the power source is and who ends up using it.
dThe press release was published by PowerLight Technologies.
