Emerging Technologies

New products, new investment and new operating partners keep advanced air mobility market moving forward.

Propulsive fuselage; Moon connectivity; Klimov’s hybrid-electric design; Lilium Jet networks; certified batteries; and Osaka’s vertiport.

KC-46 woes continue; Colorado smallsat facility expansion; MHI SH-60L first flight; and latest SBIRS launch.

Erik Lindbergh hopes to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his grandfather’s historic first solo transatlantic flight in 2027, only this time with a hybrid electric aircraft.

Harmonization of the differing European and U.S. approaches to regulating electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft is advancing somewhat, but there are concerns over the lack of information on China’s approach to approving the new class of aircraft.

NASA has agreed to work with five U.S. state and local governments on how to integrate passenger and cargo advanced air mobility into their transportation plans.

Airbus adds to A321neo production with a modernized final assembly line in Toulouse to meet both market demand and political needs.

Eviation progresses; XTI logs orders; Aergility’s cargo eVTOL; Hexa in production; and Jaunt eyes Canada.

Promising results from next-generation adaptive combat engine tests augur well for follow-on variable cycle power developments.

Details of the operating cycles for GE’s new-generation adaptive engines remain sparse.

Ingenuity begins operational test phase with one-way flight to new forward base ahead of rover’s intended route.

Aviation transformation is no longer just about urban air taxis, but also a regional connectivity.

After several OEMs exited the regional market, dominant airframers Embraer and ATR are devising new strategies.

Hydrogen propulsion startup ZeroAvia has ordered additional fuel-cell systems from Sweden’s PowerCell.

Innovative new propulsion technologies are set to shape the regional sector in the years to come.

Wright Electric hits milestone; Pyrotechnic protection; Wisk teams with Blade; Beta flies for USAF; AKKA helps Aura Aero; Dufour funding.

Extended reality systems present a way to address key safety and workforce-training challenges.

While Roc flight tests hog the limelight, Stratolaunch is quietly developing the Talon-A hypersonic testbed—Roc’s primary payload.

Will we ever be able to trust an autonomous aircraft?

Startup Wright Electric has begun testing the megawatt-scale power inverter that is a key building block in development of the electric propulsion system for its planned single-aisle airliner.

London City Airport flight operations are now being directed from 70 mi. away.

Scalable autonomy framework development supports airborne agent that can react to unanticipated situations for a wide range of aircraft.

European engineering services company AKKA Technologies is to assist French startup Aura Aero with development of its planned 19-seat Electric Regional Aircraft and Integral E electric aerobatic aircraft.

COVID-19 has pushed sustainability and emissions reduction higher up the aviation agenda–and highlighted the need for further action.

The slow pace of Leonardo’s AW609 program has not benefited from the global pandemic.