Navy tests hydrogen balloon with drone for surveillance capability

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps recently conducted a test in California demonstrating a hydrogen-powered high-altitude balloon (HAB) paired with hydrogen-fueled drones to enhance over-the-horizon surveillance, sensing, and communications capabilities. This demonstration, held from May 19–21, 2025, at Outlying Landing Field Seagle in Twentynine Palms, was the culmination of a four-year Department of Defense-funded program aimed at leveraging hydrogen as a sustainable energy source. The hydrogen-powered system offers persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (ISRT) operations with simplified logistics compared to helium-based balloons, enabling longer mission endurance and extended operational range. Officials highlighted that combining hydrogen balloons with drones allows signals to be bounced off the balloon to extend control ranges and reduce the number of drone sorties required, thereby expanding the area forces can monitor. The approach addresses critical challenges of energy supply and resilience in contested environments, particularly across remote and dispersed areas such as island chains