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Raytheon, now part of RTX, was one of three teams selected for DARPA’s POWER program, which is developing ways to relay laser-transmitted energy through airborne nodes. DARPA later reported a ground-to-ground test that delivered more than 800 watts over 8.6 kilometers for 30 seconds—but that result was not an airborne relay network. DARPA marks POWER complete, while its reviewed public announcements do not establish whether the planned final multi-node airborne demonstration took place or what it achieved.
What DARPA’s POWER program is
POWER stands for Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay. It is a defense research and demonstration program, not a consumer wireless charger or a product available to buy. DARPA’s goal is a resilient, multi-path energy network that uses laser power beaming and airborne optical relays to route energy to users. DARPA describes the program as an effort to make energy delivery more flexible than relying on a single route.
The idea behind the phrase “wireless internet for energy” is to route power through a network rather than deliver it only over wires or by transporting fuel. In DARPA’s 2022 announcement, program manager Col. Paul Calhoun called it “the internet for energy – harnessing resilient, multipath networks to flow energy from abundant sources to energy-starved consumers.” The military use case is delivering energy where established infrastructure is absent or liquid-fuel supply lines are risky or difficult to maintain. DARPA’s 2022 announcement used the phrase “wireless energy web.”
How the proposed airborne energy network would work
In the envisioned architecture, a ground-based laser sends optical energy to high-altitude relay nodes. Each relay must redirect the beam toward the next node or receiver while correcting its wavefront—the shape of the beam—to preserve its quality. A relay may also harvest a selected portion of the energy for its own use while sending the rest onward. DARPA’s proposed final-demonstration concept connected a ground laser to a ground receiver through multiple airborne relays integrated onto existing platforms. The program overview describes this network objective.
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- Transmit input voltage: 12V.
- The receiving module is directly connected to 4 * 1W high-power LED lights, which can be used for magnetic suspension lamps.
- Best distance from reception: 20mm ~ 50mm.
- Note: Can't be less than 15mm when used! Otherwise it is easy to damage the receiving LED light and device.
- Package: Charging 4 pcs &1W high Power LED.
That design raises several linked engineering challenges: each handoff can lose energy; a relay must aim and correct the beam accurately; and harvesting power at a node reduces what remains for downstream users. DARPA’s announced evaluation criteria included redirection accuracy and efficiency, wavefront correction, and throttleable energy harvesting. Its 2023 team announcement also identifies repeated conversion losses as a challenge in multi-hop networks.
Raytheon’s role—and the other POWER teams
RTX Corporation, the parent company that includes Raytheon, led one of three teams DARPA selected for Phase 1. Draper and BEAM Co. led the other two. The announced plan was for initial relay designs to be demonstrated in pods carried by existing aircraft in a later phase; selection as a team lead did not mean that an operational airborne network had been built.
Rank #2
- XKT-412 is a high-frequency high-power integrated circuit with a small size and powerful output power, which can operate in a higher frequency range
- Due to the small requirement for coil inductance, PCB can also be directly used as the emitter, making production applications more convenient
- The XKT-412 circuit is extremely simple and has characteristics such as high accuracy and stability. It is specifically used in wireless induction intelligent charging and power management systems with high reliability and performance
- XK T-412 is responsible for handling the radio energy transmission function in the system, adopting the principle of electromagnetic energy conversion and cooperating with the receiving part for energy conversion and real-time monitoring of the circuit
- XKT-412 can be made into a highly reliable wireless fast charger and wireless power supply with minimal external components
New Atlas reported on December 14, 2023, that Raytheon had won a two-year, US$10 million DARPA contract. That contract detail is reported by New Atlas; DARPA’s own team announcement confirms RTX as one of the three Phase 1 leads, but does not establish that Raytheon was the program’s sole participant.
What DARPA demonstrated in 2025
On May 16, 2025, DARPA reported that its POWER Receiver Array Demo (PRAD) delivered more than 800 watts during a 30-second transmission across 8.6 kilometers (5.3 miles). The campaign transferred more than one megajoule in total. DARPA said the laser transmitter and receiver were both on the ground and the beam traveled through the thickest part of the atmosphere. DARPA’s test announcement describes a power-beaming receiver and distance demonstration—not the integrated airborne relay network envisioned by POWER.
Rank #3
- Output current of receiving module: 5V/1000mA; Operating voltage of the transmitting module: 5V~12V
- Transmitter module size: 17mm*11mm*2.3mm; Transmitting and receiving coil size: Outer diameter 40mm thickness 1.8mm
- This product is designed for wireless charging and power supply for various small electronic products. It has the characteristics of small size, easy to use, and high efficiency
- Due to the use of a contactless charging power supply, the product can be completely sealed, waterproof, and dustproof, increasing its service life and making it more convenient to use
- It is mainly applicable to mobile electronic products such as mobile phones, game consoles, fish tanks, digital cameras, Electric shavers, learning machines, underwater supplies, and other products
DARPA also reported more than 20% efficiency from optical power leaving the laser to electrical power leaving the receiver at shorter distances. That is a limited test measurement, not an efficiency figure for the full network or for the 8.6-kilometer transmission. It should not be used to infer how much useful electricity an airborne, multi-hop system would deliver after relay and conversion losses.
What remains unconfirmed about the airborne demonstration
DARPA’s 2025 announcement said the program would move on from the receiver-array result to demonstrate integrated relays and vertical power transmission. DARPA’s program page now marks POWER complete, but the reviewed official announcements do not establish whether the planned final demonstration—laser to multiple airborne relays to a ground receiver—took place or what its outcome was. The program page and the 2025 test announcement support the distinction between the reported ground test and the proposed relay demonstration.
Rank #4
- The charging module is an 80mm DC remote module, and the circuit is simple and practical.
- Transmitting voltage: 24V
- Transmitting coil: inner diameter 70mm outer diameter 88mm thickness 1.3mm
- Output of Receiver: 12V2A at 8mm; Output of Receiver: 12V2A at 9mm;
- Output of Receiver: 12V1.9A at 10mm; Output of Receiver: 12V800mA at 18mm
Accordingly, the reported results do not show that a fielded network exists, that energy can be delivered reliably in operational conditions, or that aircraft can remain aloft indefinitely by receiving beamed power. Those are not established outcomes of the figures DARPA published.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the program’s long-range target
DARPA’s 2023 announcement described a planned final-phase goal of delivering 10 kilowatts of optical energy to a ground receiver 200 kilometers from a ground source laser by using an airborne optical pathway. This was an announced target, not the result of the 2025 ground-to-ground receiver-array test. DARPA’s team announcement gives the target and frames it as a program objective.
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- This module DC long-distance wireless power supply module is mainly used for long-distance power supply of products;
- It is designed with low cost scheme, low price and strong practicability. This module is currently equipped with 4W high power LED lights;
- Can not be used below 40mm! Otherwise it is easy to damage the receiving LED light and device;
- Transmit input voltage: 12V; Transmitting coil size: outer diameter 75mm*1mm;
- Receive module directly connected to 4 1W high power LED
Progress on one part of the problem—transmitting power to a receiver over distance—does not by itself verify the other parts: relaying between moving airborne nodes, correcting the beam at each handoff, harvesting energy without excessive losses, and delivering useful power at the far end. Those are distinct performance questions, and the ground test does not answer them as a complete system.
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