GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Unmanned high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) are capable of flying in the stratosphere, at a significantly lower altitude compared to satellite, and with very long endurance. They are ideal carriers for sensor and communication systems to persistently perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks and serve as low delay communication relay, compared to geo-stationary satellites. Such HAPS should be able of carrying on board high resolution of optical and radar sensors as well as low latency communication, possibly through a network of HAPS.

The proposals must include in particular:

• Definition of the Concept of Operations of HAPS solutions in their various missions, taking into account their specific operational capacities. Such CONOPS will be used to design the prototypes or the new HAPS solutions (platform and payloads, including data processing);
• Demonstration of the various HAPS demonstrators (platforms and payloads) to de-risk the key technologies and highlight the operational performances that can be expected from each demonstrator type;
• Study of current and foreseen technology status and identification of road maps for each demonstrator involved.

Targeted activities: Studies, design, not excluding upstream activities.