Mid-2026 Flight Tests Planned as WMS and Britten-Norman Push for High-Altitude 5G
World Mobile Stratospheric (WMS) and Britten-Norman have announced a partnership to demonstrate a pioneering airborne 5G communications system using a BN2T-4S Islander aircraft, a move the companies say could extend next-generation mobile coverage into remote areas and speed the restoration of communications after disasters.
Under the collaboration, WMS has acquired a Britten-Norman Islander that will be fitted with an advanced phased-array antenna system to test real-time 5G services across a roughly 15-kilometre radius. The demonstration builds on more than a decade of development work by the former Stratospheric Platforms Ltd, now integrated into WMS, and represents the first major milestone in the joint venture’s push to bring stratospheric connectivity into operational use.
WMS, formed as a joint venture between World Mobile Group and Indonesia’s Protelindo, is developing a stratospheric platform intended to provide affordable and resilient communications worldwide. The company envisions a hydrogen-powered, fixed-wing aircraft capable of operating at heights up to 20,000 metres and supporting as many as 500,000 simultaneous direct-to-handset connections through its advanced radio technology.
One of the most immediate use cases for the aircraft-based system is emergency response. WMS says a suitably equipped Islander, able to operate from short or austere runways, could be deployed to re-establish mobile networks in disaster-hit regions, restoring vital links for emergency services and affected communities when terrestrial infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.
Pushing for High-Altitude 5G
Flight testing is slated to begin in mid-2026. WMS will lead operations alongside Britten-Norman’s flight test organization, conducting system trials in partnership with BT at the operator’s Adastral Park research and development facility near Ipswich. The programme will validate how high-altitude, aircraft-based systems perform in real-world conditions and how they can complement existing network infrastructure.
“This collaboration with Britten-Norman brings together world-class British aircraft engineering and World Mobile’s next-generation telecoms innovation. Our goal is to demonstrate how stratospheric communications can bring reliable 5G connectivity to places that need it most,” said Richard Deakin, CEO of WMS. “World Mobile Stratospheric will ultimately realize the use of DePIN networks using a sharing economy model from the stratosphere. This first major step provides a crucial milestone along that journey.”
“We’re proud to work alongside World Mobile Stratospheric to advance airborne connectivity technology,” said Mark Shipp, Technical Director and Head of Design at Britten-Norman. “The Islander serves as a proven, certified platform for innovative applications, with our experienced teams ensuring seamless integration of novel technologies while maintaining the highest safety standards.”
The demonstration is a visible step in WMS’s broader roadmap toward full-scale stratospheric flight and large-scale connectivity from the edge of space. If successful, the initiative could expand mobile coverage to millions of people currently beyond the reach of conventional networks, while providing a new tool for governments and operators facing the twin challenges of rural digital exclusion and disaster resilience.
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