Nikola Tesla's dream of wireless energy transfer has just taken a giant leap from science fiction to harsh reality. In the skies above Pennsylvania, the startup company Overview Energy managed to achieve something that was until recently considered technically impossible in dynamic conditions: successful transmission of electricity from a moving aircraft directly to the earth's surface.
The experiment, conducted in late November 2025, tested not only the equipment, but also the nerves of the team. A Cessna Caravan turboprop aircraft was subjected to brutal crosswinds at a speed of 70 knots at an altitude of 5,000 meters. Despite the chaotic shaking of the machine, the laser guidance system was able to “lock“ the ground receiver and deliver a precise energy beam. This is the first case in history where energy has been successfully transmitted from a mobile aerial platform to a stationary point on the ground.
The key to Overview Energy's success lies in the use of low-density infrared radiation. Unlike aggressive microwave technologies, this method is completely safe for the eyes and the environment. The most ingenious part of the concept is that no complex futuristic facilities are required to receive the energy – it can be captured by standard solar panels, which are already widely used in households and industry.
This test flight is actually a dress rehearsal for a much more ambitious plan: building an orbital network of satellites that would collect solar energy in space and send it to Earth 24 hours a day, bypassing the limitations of night and cloudy weather. The company is confident that the next big step is an orbital prototype in 2028, with the ultimate goal of the technology reaching megawatt scale by 2030, rewriting the rules of the global energy grid.