GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

A ground support equipment for powering an aircraft on the ground, the ground support equipment comprising: a solid state converter configured to power an aircraft on the ground from an airport power source having a pre-determined maximum power, and a battery charging unit configured to charge an external battery from the airport power source. The solid state converter is configured to measure an instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft. The solid state converter is configured to generate, for controlling the battery charging unit, a control signal indicative of a maximum power available for the battery charging unit based on the difference between the pre-determined maximum power of the airport power source and the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft..