Modular power units for aircraft

A system for supplying electrical power comprising:

• an aircraft having a power bus and a data bus;
• a plurality of modular power units, each modular power unit comprising a container containing:
• a power generation unit for producing a generated power;
• a control system for providing control signals to the power generation unit, the control signals controlling at least one parameter of the generated power of the power generation unit;
• a conditioning system for receiving and conditioning the generated power of the power generation unit;
• and
• an environmental control system for providing a temperature regulating fluid to at least the power generation unit and the conditioning system;
• one or more data connections for connecting the control system of each modular power unit to the data bus of the aircraft;
• and
• one or more power connections for connecting the conditioning system of each modular power unit to the power bus of the aircraft;
• wherein the conditioning system of one or more modular power units provides a power output to the power bus.

A method of providing electrical power to an aircraft, the aircraft having a power bus and a data bus, the method comprising:

• planning a multi-leg mission for the aircraft;
• determining an electrical power requirement for a first leg of the multi-leg mission;
• loading one or more modular power units onto the aircraft in preparation for the first leg, wherein each modular power unit is coupled to the power bus and data bus of the aircraft, and wherein each modular power unit comprises a container containing:
• a power generation unit for producing a generated power;
• a control system for providing control signals to the power generation unit, the control signals controlling at least one parameter of the generated power of the power generation unit;
• a conditioning system for receiving and conditioning the generated power of the power generation unit to provide a power output to the power bus;
• and
• an environmental control system for providing a temperature regulating fluid to at least the power generation unit and the conditioning system;
• completing the first leg of the multi-leg mission with at least a portion of the electrical power of the aircraft supplied by the one or more modular power units;
• determining an electrical power requirement for a second leg of the multi-leg mission;
• removing at least one modular power unit from the aircraft;
• loading one or more modular power units onto the aircraft in preparation for the second leg;
• and
• completing the second leg of the multi-leg mission with at least a portion of the electrical power of the aircraft supplied by the one or more modular power units.