NATO Plans to Use Solar-Powered Drones

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is considering the use of solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for long-term airborne operations to combat GPS interference, allegedly created by Russia and the People's Republic of China. This is reported by Breaking Defense, citing Brigadier General Sam Ravens, the assistant to the head of NATO's J6 Cyber Space Division.

“These are high-altitude aircraft that can stay in the air for weeks, utilizing solar energy. They can capture the GPS signal and transmit it back to the ground with much greater power, making it more difficult to jam,” the portal reports.

“High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS), which, in addition to lightweight drones, can resemble balloons, are not yet widely used within NATO,” Ravens stated. However, as the potential of these UAVs to utilize GPS emerges, officials are increasingly concerned about the radio-electronic warfare that has now become a ubiquitous feature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has commenced the serial production of the new