Solar-powered high-altitude aircraft manufacturer and stratospheric platform operator
AALTO manufactures Zephyr, a solar-powered high-altitude platform capable of continuous flight for months—with a flight-time record exceeding 67 days. The company operates as an Airbus subsidiary, building both the aircraft and ground infrastructure while managing supply chain, production scheduling, and multidisciplinary engineering integration. Active hiring in engineering and manufacturing (20 of 23 roles) reflects the operational scaling required to move from prototype to sustained production, with documented pain points around assembly efficiency, material availability, and on-time delivery.
Notable leadership hires: Industry Director
AALTO is a UK-based aerospace manufacturer focused on high-altitude platform stations (HAPS). The company designs, manufactures, and operates Zephyr, a stratospheric aircraft powered by solar energy and capable of month-long persistent flight. As an Airbus subsidiary, AALTO serves commercial and government customers with applications spanning Earth observation, connectivity, and related services. The business spans aircraft structure manufacturing, ground support equipment, shop floor operations, and supply chain management across a 201–500 person team in Farnborough.
AALTO manufactures Zephyr, a solar-powered high-altitude platform aircraft, along with ground support equipment and related systems. Zephyr holds a flight-time record of over 67 days in the stratosphere and enables continuous missions for connectivity and Earth observation applications.
AALTO's stack includes Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power suite (Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI) for operations; Azure DevOps, Azure Functions, and Logic Apps for development; .NET and C# for software; SQL and Dataverse for data; and domain-specific tools like Oracle Primavera, 8D, and FMEA for aerospace manufacturing and project management.
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