Snowdonia Aerospace Test Centre in Llanbedr has been selected as a test base for a £70 million project researching cutting edge aerospace technology.

Backed by £70 million over 3.5 years, the programme will fund the development of technologies that enable High Altitude Pseudo-Satellites (HAPS) that can potentially offer a new class of digital services with far greater capability, more sovereignty, and potentially lower costs than satellites.

Eighteen teams, known as R&D Creators, have been awarded funding to test their platforms as part of the initiative. They will span across three key areas: Enabling Technologies, Downstream Applications, and Air Platforms.

The Llanbedr site will be used by the Creator teams to test the high-altitude platforms that will reach up to 50,000 feet and will consist of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft and multi-rotor drones.

The airfield offers a range of facilities and a unique location on the Snowdonia coastline that includes its own danger area over Cardigan Bay, which intends to be extended as part of the programme to allow for the project testing.

The project partners provide the necessary test sites and will help the Creator teams to prove that their experimental platforms can safely fly and maintain station at altitudes above commercial aviation, continuously delivering 300w to a 20kg payload for a full week.

If successful, the programme will demonstrate the ability to operate HAPS persistently in the stratosphere and will create a new infrastructure layer between the Earth and space to deliver connectivity to underserved regions in the UK and worldwide.

This will result in the creation of a physical backbone for next-generation advanced communications and a way forward for connectivity to underserved regions. The technology will also offer future export potential.

Lee Paul, Chief Executive Officer at Snowdonia Aerospace Test Centre, said: “Research and development, and innovation are the backbone to the ongoing growth of the UK economy and we are proud to be at the forefront of these within the emerging aerospace sector having been selected by ARIA to support this innovative programme.”

Jeremy Howitt, Technical Director at Snowdonia Aerospace Test Centre, added: “This programme will provide critical research into the technologies that will enable sustainable future communications networks to reach everyone, everywhere. As a project partner, we will not only provide the testing services and facilities, but support the TA2 platform teams, who focus on the system integration and testing of the platforms, with regulatory advice and planning.”

Rico Chandra, Programme Director for Enduring Atmospheric Platforms at ARIA, said: "To build platforms that can stay aloft for days at a time, our teams need to fly early and often.

“Snowdonia Aerospace Test Centre gives them a place to do exactly that, right on the Welsh coast.

“Their dedicated airspace, hands on team and track record with regulators made them a clear choice. From low altitude prototypes to high altitude flights, we’re excited to see what our Creators achieve at Llanbedr!

“We’re delighted to have Snowdonia Aerospace Test Centre on board as a programme partner".

The first milestone is expected to be reached in around 10 months