U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Airbus has wound up its Acubed innovation unit in the U.S., established in 2015 to connect the European aerospace giant with the fast-moving, disruptive thinking of Silicon Valley.

General Atomics sees air-recoverable uncrewed aircraft systems extending the reach of MQ-9 payloads.

DARPA is exploring options for installing tactical high-energy laser systems on Collaborative Combat Aircraft and ground vehicles for self-defense.

The cloud-based software is intended to allow space tech developers to test interoperability before flight.

Quantum sensing technology that a DARPA official described as the “end of stealth” is moving out the laboratory and into operational testing.

Scaled Composites built the flying-wing UAS under a DARPA project to demonstrate hybrid propulsion.

DARPA's Sprint project develops a high-speed tiltrotor to address contested logistics and runway vulnerabilities with advanced V/STOL technology.

Hybrid-electric Shepard; deployable electric high-lift; laminar-flow UAS; and Leonardo’s advanced tiltrotor.

DARPA wants the ability to autonomously store, launch and recover swarms of Group 1 through 3 drones.

Otto Aerospace has completed flight tests of an uncrewed aircraft designed around its drag-reducing natural laminar flow technology.

The U.S. Air Force wants to retire all of its E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Nodes in 2028 as it shifts this role to space.

DLR has begun flying the Proteus, an uncrewed aircraft designed to fly with either a reference conventional wing or an experimental morphing wing.

DARPA has revealed interest in developing a new class of air-to-air missiles in which the top design requirement is mass production rather than maximizing performance.

Nuclear fusion rocket power; Matrix autonomy joins the Army; ship-to-shore contested logistics; and sulfur’s role in contrails formation.

Gulf airlines continue to face heavy disruption, while U.S. carriers deal with a fuel cost surge and must compete against largely hedged European airlines.

Stop-fold tiltrotor becomes X-76; Sikorsky tests hybrid powertrain; light-driven SAF production; and from nuclear power to liquid fuel.

The stop-fold tiltrotor uncrewed aircraft under development by Bell for a DARPA project to fly a high-speed VTOL demonstrator has been designated the X-76.

Singaporean eVTOL demonstrator; missile-launching uncrewed X-plane; BWB goes double-deck; and cheaper SAF by co-electrolysis.

An air-launched missile-carrying UAS developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for DARPA’s LongShot project has been designed the X-68A.

Nuclear propulsion for space may be back in favor as the U.S. seeks technology to power vehicles going to Mars and beyond.

A recent series of ground tests validated a rotation detonation ramjet linked to a supersonic inlet for the first time.

Automated Black Hawk; Eve’s eVTOL flies; Arctic auroral radar; controlling thin wings.

DARPA is taking a hard look at the quizzical, quantum-mechanics-based hardware.

Quantum sensors and navigation could be deployed soon while other technologies are years from reality.

DARPA wants to harness the noisy radio frequency environment of the ionosphere.