Mira Aerospace to Launch 30-Metre HAPS Platform by Year-End 2026

Mira Aerospace, a subsidiary of Space42, has confirmed it will launch an upgraded High-Altitude Platform System (HAPS) with a 30-metre wingspan before the end of 2026. The announcement, made at the 'Make it in the Emirates 2026' forum, underscores a strategic push by the United Arab Emirates to localize advanced aviation technology and strengthen its national industries in space, communications, and surveillance.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Mira Aerospace CEO Khaled Almarzooqi highlighted that the initiative aligns with the UAE's goal of developing and producing advanced technologies with Emirati intellectual property. The new platform, identified in company materials as the ApusNeo30, represents a significant size increase from the company's current ApusNeo18 model, which has an 18-metre wingspan. This development positions Mira Aerospace to enhance its capabilities in a competitive market for stratospheric pseudo-satellites, which offer persistent, regional coverage for Earth observation and telecommunications.

Technical Capabilities and Regulatory Hurdles

The current Mira Aerospace HAPS is a solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of operating at altitudes between 14 and 16 kilometres for more than a week at a time. Almarzooqi clarified that while the platform has the technical capacity for multi-week flights, current test durations are limited by regulatory constraints rather than technological shortfalls. The primary barrier is the evolving framework for Higher Airspace Operations (HAO), the regulatory classification for flights in the stratosphere.

Mira Aerospace is actively working with the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and other international bodies to secure approvals for extended-duration test flights. The successful completion of one-week flights has already demonstrated the platform's endurance, which relies on solar panels for clean energy generation. The new, larger ApusNeo30 is expected to build upon this performance, offering increased payload capacity and mission flexibility.

Mira Aerospace ApusNeo30 vs. Airbus Zephyr 8/S

Industry Impact and Strategic Context

The development and local manufacturing of HAPS technology at a facility in the Al Dhafra region is a cornerstone of the UAE's industrial strategy. For stakeholders like UAE defense and civil protection agencies, this provides sovereign access to persistent aerial surveillance for applications such as border monitoring and disaster management, including real-time wildfire tracking, at a lower cost than traditional satellites. The platform's capabilities also present a competitive challenge to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operators for regional Earth observation and communications contracts.

This trend is not isolated. The Airbus Zephyr S set a world record in the summer of 2022 with a 64-day flight, demonstrating the extreme endurance potential of solar-powered HAPS and validating the technical claims made by companies like Mira Aerospace. However, the sector's growth is contingent on regulatory progress. In July 2024, AALTO HAPS became the first company to receive a Design Organisation Approval from the UK's CAA, a milestone that highlights the critical need for established regulatory pathways to enable commercial operations.

What Comes Next

Mira Aerospace has confirmed it will launch the upgraded 30-metre ApusNeo30 platform by the end of 2026. Following the launch, a key milestone will be securing regulatory approval from the GCAA for multi-week stratospheric operations, which is expected sometime in the 2026-2027 timeframe. Achieving this approval will unlock the platform's full technical potential and pave the way for commercial services.

Why This Matters

This development signals the UAE's serious commitment to becoming a key player in the emerging stratospheric economy. By manufacturing HAPS platforms locally, the nation reduces its reliance on foreign technology for critical surveillance and communications infrastructure. For the broader aviation industry, it marks another step toward the commercial viability of pseudo-satellites, which promise to bridge the gap between conventional aircraft and orbital satellites for a variety of civil and defense applications.