6G Base Stations Double as Radar; Solar Drone Pushes Toward 100 Hours

Highlights

• 6G base stations will gain radar-like sensing, merging communications and detection
• ApusNeo solar drone flies continuously for more than 80 hours, pushing toward 100 hours
• ApusNeo reaches 14,500 meters in European airspace, validating high-altitude long endurance

Communications networks extend toward "sensing": 6G base stations double as radar

Xinwen Lianbo on Nov 7 devoted about 2 minutes and 20 seconds to the buildout of next-generation communications networks, specifying that it covers mobile networks including 5G, 5G-A and 6G, as well as 10-gigabit optical networks and satellite internet. The goal is deep integration of communications, sensing, computing and intelligence. The report noted in particular that 6G technology is accelerating from the lab to application, and that 6G base stations and signals can not only communicate but also sense object movement like radar. This technology will also provide faster response guarantees for autonomous driving and other uses. (Source: IT Home)

For the low-altitude sector, the key point in this statement is that "sensing" has been added to the communications network's capability list. Surveillance of low-altitude aircraft has long relied on independent means such as radar and ADS-B. If base stations themselves can sense, the coverage density and deployment cost structure of low-altitude detection could change. The report, however, only gives a technical direction; it discloses no test progress, accuracy metrics or specific validation plans for 6G sensing in low-altitude scenarios. A usable low-altitude surveillance capability is still some distance away. (Source: IT Home)

Existing network data in the same report offers a reference: China has built more than 26,000 industrial 5G private networks and 1,260 5G factories, and the industrial internet covers all 41 major industrial categories. In September, the Yimin open-pit mine in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, completed the country's first 5G-A gigabit uplink validation in an open-pit mine scenario, with nearly 100 mining trucks achieving automatic loading and unloading, automatic obstacle avoidance and automatic battery swapping. These cases show that ground unmanned equipment's demand for communications networks is becoming concrete, and low-altitude aircraft's network dependence will most likely evolve in the same direction. (Source: IT Home)

Platform side: solar drone pushes endurance toward "day-scale"

UAVOS's ApusNeo solar drone is conducting long-endurance tests on Fuerteventura in Spain. The current continuous flight has exceeded 80 hours and is pushing toward the 100-hour target. The company says ApusNeo is the first solar aircraft to reach an altitude of 14,500 meters in European airspace, with wildfire monitoring as its target use. (Source: IT Home)

By the numbers, ApusNeo has an 18-meter wingspan and a maximum takeoff weight of 47 kg; the reinforced version can carry about 3.4 kg of mission payload. Wing-mounted solar panels power the motors and charge the batteries during the day, and after nightfall the aircraft continues flying on stored energy, forming a day-night energy cycle. Before this long-endurance test, the aircraft flew continuously for 29 hours on Oct 16, reaching a maximum altitude of about 14,500 meters. In September it completed uninterrupted flights of 29 hours and 52 hours, showing stepwise gains in endurance. (Source: IT Home)

On mission payload, the aircraft carries an observation pod combining a high-resolution camera and infrared sensors that can transmit images back to the ground in real time. The infrared sensors detect heat sources and support early wildfire detection and fire tracking. UAVOS hopes to use the aircraft for forest fire monitoring, but a timeline for formal mission deployment has not been specified. (Source: IT Home)

Where the two threads meet

Viewed together, two foundational capabilities of the low-altitude economy are advancing in parallel: communications networks are moving from "connectivity" to "connectivity + sensing," and platforms are moving from "hour-scale" to "day-scale" endurance. If the former matures, it could change how low-altitude targets are detected; if the latter stabilizes, high-altitude long-dwell operating models become more feasible. But both are currently at the validation or direction-disclosure stage: no low-altitude scenario test details have emerged for 6G sensing, and ApusNeo's 100-hour target has not been completed, with no timeline for mission deployment. The judgment holds, but follow-up test data is needed to confirm it. (Source: IT Home)