DARPA Program Sets Distance Record for Power Beaming

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In the optical power beaming receiver designed for PRAD, the laser enters the center aperture, strikes a parabolic mirror, and reflects onto dozens of photovoltaic cells arranged around the inside of the device which convert the energy back to usable power. Source: DARPA
In the optical power beaming receiver designed for PRAD, the laser enters the center aperture, strikes a parabolic mirror, and reflects onto dozens of photovoltaic cells arranged around the inside of the device which convert the energy back to usable power (source: DARPA).

July 8, 2025 | Originally published by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on May 16, 2025

In a series of recent tests in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program achieved several new records for transmitting power over distance. The team recorded more than 800 watts of power delivered during a 30-second transmission from a laser 8.6 kilometers (5.3 miles) away. Over the course of the test campaign, more than a megajoule of energy was transferred.

Previously, the greatest reported distance records for an appreciable amount of optical power (>1 microwatt) were 230 watts of average power at 1.7 kilometers for 25 seconds and a lesser (but undisclosed) amount of power at 3.7 kilometers.

“It is beyond a doubt that we absolutely obliterated all previously reported optical power beaming demonstrations for power and distance,” said POWER Program Manager Paul Jaffe after the results were confirmed. The DARPA-led team brought together industry and government, including the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF) at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range.

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