U.S. startup Rain Industries has unveiled an autonomous firefighting demonstrator aircraft, the MK2, with plans to showcase a rapid initial wildfire response and containment with the uncrewed rotorcraft.
Spun out of automotive electric motor developer Yasa before it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2021, UK startup Evolito is preparing to deliver its first aerospace-grade motors to customers in the first half of 2023 for early testing.
German emergency medical service operator ADAC Air Rescue envisions replacing fleets of medical vehicles with electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to transport doctors to emergency scenes.
The FAA has finally published its proposed airworthiness criteria for Joby Aviation’s JAS4-1, providing the first detailed look at the certification basis for an eVTOL powered-lift aircraft.
Merlin is developing the Merlin Pilot autonomous flight system and is working on FAA supplemental type certification of the capability, initially on the Cessna Caravan.
VoltAero has secured Italian aerospace components and structures producer TESI as a strategic investor and industrial partner as part of a €32 million ($31.6 million) Series B fundraising round.
UPS Flight Forward, the package carrier’s uncrewed aircraft division, is looking ahead to a vertical takeoff and landing demonstration flight direct to a UPS center using Beta Technologies’ Alia-250.
Flights of UMS Skeldar’s V-200 rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft have demonstrated a detect-and-avoid system capable of automatically maneuvering a UAV around intruder aircraft
A Robinson R44 converted to electrified propulsion by Tier 1 Engineering has completed the first helicopter flight between airfields solely on electric power.
On the heels of listing publicly, startup Amprius has signed a 3-year agreement to supply its high-energy-density batteries to BA Systems’ Air business for use in electrically powered flight applications.
Lufthansa Technik has converted a decommissioned Airbus A320 into a hydrogen field laboratory to test maintenance and ground-based processes in preparation for hydrogen-powered flight.
Another design has been added to the list of large uncrewed cargo aircraft under development in China, with Sichuan Tengden Science & Technology conducting the first flight of its Twin-Tailed Scorpion D on Oct. 25.
Monte Aircraft Leasing has placed a firm order with hybrid-electric propulsion startup Ampaire for 25 Eco Caravans with an option for an additional 25 of the converted Cessna Grand Caravans.
South Korea’s Pablo Air has been contracted by NASA to use one of its multicopters to measure wind speed in urban airspace, part of a larger effort to study urban weather for advanced air mobility.
The UK government is offering £10 million ($11.2 million) in funding for net-zero propulsion projects under a competition aimed at all transportation sectors including aviation.
Flying car is a frequent misnomer for electric air taxis, but in the case of Alef Aeronautics’ Model A the term is a correct, if inadequate, description given the unconventional approach the startup has taken to designing a vehicle that can take off and land vertically as well as drive on the road.
Swiss International Air Lines has become the first carrier to deploy drag-reducing riblet technology on passenger services, with the Oct. 14 Zurich-Miami flight of a Boeing 777-300ER with AeroShark film applied to its fuselage and engine nacelles.
