The U.S. Air Force began testing lasers as a source of propulsion for small “lightcraft” as early as the 1980s and managed to get small cone-shaped craft to fly hundreds of feet in the air propelled only by laser beams. This new concept is different, though, in that the beamed power UAVs the Navy envisions will feature traditional propulsion systems (such as rotors or propellers) and instead have rectennas that capture the energy from directed energy beams to constantly replenish their electrical power reserves.
Placing the source of power generation and transmission in space is a new take on this concept, offering superior lines of sight and a continuous, renewable source of energy via the sun.
With a space-based power source, they could fly anywhere on earth. Obviously, the implications for overhead surveillance are equally impactful.
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