An advanced airborne 5G connectivity system has been successfully integrated to a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, completing a series of demonstration flights.
A team of UK companies completes flight trials for 5G infrastructure from the sky!
The groundbreaking technology is being developed by a number of UK companies led by Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), a leading Non-Terrestrial Networks telecoms developer, with design, integration and demonstration flights provided by manufacturer Britten-Norman.
SPL is at the forefront of developing airborne antennas to deliver widescale high performance 5G coverage. This technology offers numerous valuable applications, such as quickly restoring networks after major disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis, where traditional mobile network infrastructure has been disrupted.
On 18th July 2024, the project team were joined by distinguished guests from potential customers and investors to observe the installation of the array under real flight conditions during an event at Britten-Norman’s Solent Airport aircraft maintenance (MRO) facility. The trial, conducted by Britten-Norman’s Flight Test Organisation, aimed to demonstrate the aircraft's capability to operate safely with the large 5G phased array antenna installed. Key aspects of the flight test programme included assessment of aircraft performance and handling qualities, covering both normal and emergency operation. This will support full certification of the system, enabling integration in terrestrial telecoms network at connection speeds of up to 200Mbps over 15,000km2.
The turboprop BN2T-4S Islander variant was chosen for its robust design, all-weather capability, exceptional endurance and payload capacity. In addition, the aircraft’s modular design makes it an ideal platform for integration of large mission system payloads, whilst retaining a rapid re-role capability for other taskings.
The next phase of the project involves demonstrating the technology via a connection to a private UK-based national 5G telecommunications network.