In July 2019, research and development center Tecnalia in Spain’s Basque region conducted tethered indoor test flights of the prototype of an unusual “drone of drones” design for an autonomous air taxi. Now Spanish unmanned aircraft services provider Umiles has acquired the design from Tecnalia with the goal of producing the first 100% domestically developed electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
Italian and French airport operators have formed a company, Urban Blue, with international ambitions to design, build and manage the vertiport infrastructure for urban air mobility.
A team of heritage and new space companies headed by Blue Origin and Sierra Space plan to build, launch and operate an International Space Station-class commercial outpost in low Earth orbit that can be tailored and expanded to accommodate a broad array of scientific, technological, business, entertainment and other pursuits.
Startup ZeroAvia has partnered with Mitsubishi’s CRJ support division, MHI RJ Aviation, to develop hydrogen-electric propulsion for regional jets, aiming for market availability in 2028.
Chinese Tesla rival XPeng has unveiled a “flying car,” a two-seat, supercar-style electric vehicle that transforms into a twin-rotor helicopter, under development by its affiliate HT Aero.
Airflow has signed a memorandum of understanding with Honeywell to explore use of the avionics manufacturer’s IntuVue RDR-84K compact multimode radar for detect-and-avoid on its planned electric short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
Citing increased confidence following static tests of its ultraquiet electric propulsors, startup Whisper Aero has accelerated plans to use the technology in a quiet, efficient electric general aviation aircraft.
