MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Air University researchers are exploring how space-based solar power could help the Air Force sustain operations in contested environments.
As the Joint Force prepares for competition against capable adversaries, resilient energy and logistics remain critical to maintaining operational reach, survivability and decision advantage.
The effort comes from Alpha Blue, part of Air University’s Innovation Accelerator, where students work on real operational problems tied directly to warfighting requirements.
A student team from Alpha Blue’s Space Research Team recently presented its concept, Pacific Expeditionary Resilient Solar Energy from Uninterrupted Space, or PERSEUS. The concept looks at how space-based solar power could reduce reliance on fuel logistics in Agile Combat Employment and lower risk to distributed forces.
“Logistics remains one of the primary challenges for the Deployable Combat Wing, particularly in the Indo-Pacific,” said Lt. Col. Jan Rekstad, a Danish Air War College student attending the Air Command and Staff College. “Agile Combat Employment depends on dispersal and mobility, but those forces still require reliable energy for communications, maintenance, sensors and sortie generation.”
Today, expeditionary energy relies on diesel generators, fuel convoys and aerial resupply. These systems increase lift requirements, create detectable signatures and introduce operational risk. In contested environments, those dependencies become vulnerabilities.
“Our research asks a fundamental question,” Rekstad said. “How do we sustain distributed air operations without extending fragile supply lines?”
Rekstad described the team’s proposed solution as a network of satellites that collect solar energy in orbit and transmit it to ground receivers.
“These systems collect solar energy in orbit, convert it into directed energy and transmit it to a receiver, which then converts it into usable electricity,” Rekstad said. “Because they operate above weather and atmospheric interference, they can provide consistent and predictable power.”
For Agile Combat Employment, that capability could allow mobile units to generate power without relying on fuel delivery. The result is a smaller logistics footprint, higher operational tempo and improved resilience in contested environments.
Maj. Robert Hudspeth, an Air Command and Staff College student, demonstrated a scaled proof of concept model using a 3D printed satellite and a directed energy simulation to show wireless power transmission to a mobile receiver.
“As shown, energy can be transmitted and received wirelessly,” Hudspeth said. “While this is a scaled representation, it reflects the same functional steps identified in NASA analysis.”
The demonstration focused on mobility, showing how a receiver can move with the force while maintaining access to power.
Maj. Derrick L. Garner, a U.S. Marine Corps officer attending the Air Command and Staff College, addressed feasibility, citing improvements in launch costs, solar efficiency and in space assembly.
“Our project does not advocate immediate fielding,” Garner said. “It shows that space-based solar power could become a future capability that reduces logistics burdens, supports distributed operations and increases operational tempo for the Air Force and the Joint Force.”
While technical and cost challenges remain, the research points to a different way to sustain distributed operations and reduce risk across contested logistics networks.
“Space-based solar power offers a way to reduce reliance on vulnerable fuel supply chains,” Garner said. “It presents a future where energy can be delivered to distributed forces when and where it is needed.”
As the Air Force adapts to a more contested and dynamic environment, efforts like PERSEUS show how developing joint Airpower warriors today can shape how the Joint Force operates tomorrow.