Small unmanned aircraft equipped with meteorological instruments have flown simulated urban and suburban delivery routes on the Daytona Beach, Florida, campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to help develop hyperlocal weather prediction tools needed for autonomous flights in populated areas.
Rolls-Royce has signed a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg-based business jet and helicopter service provider and fixed-based operator Luxaviation to collaborate on the development and deployment of advanced air mobility.
Italian general aviation manufacturer Tecnam has made its first foray into electric propulsion, revealing a hybrid-electric version of its four-seat P2010 that made its first flight in December.
Singapore-headquartered H3 Dynamics has tested what it said is the first integrated hydrogen-electric powertrain nacelle, designed to enable distributed propulsion for a range of aircraft sizes.
Elbit Systems’ StarLiner medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system has received type certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, approving the aircraft to fly in civil airspace.
Hydrogen supplier Air Liquide and Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean Air and the operator of Incheon International Airport to study the development of infrastructure required to support the deployment of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
U.S. startup Odys Aerospace has secured $12.4 million in seed funding to build a subscale demonstrator of an unconventional hybrid-electric aircraft that combines vertical takeoff and landing capability with high cruise efficiency to provide regional range at low operating cost.
Israel’s Steadicopter says its Black Eagle 50H VTOL UAS is the first in its class and combines the best of both its electric and petrol-powered Black Eagle UAS.
Brazilian startup Desaer has partnered with electric propulsion developer MagniX to develop a hybrid-electric version of its planned ATL-100 regional utility transport.
Vertical Aerospace has selected Leonardo’s aerostructures division to design, test and manufacture the carbon-composite fuselage for its planned VX4 air taxi.
Potential military missions for the aircraft include “island hopping and distributed cargo logistics in the Indo-Pacific theater or operations in areas with limited infrastructure like Africa,” an Electra executive says.
GE Aviation has teamed with Boeing and its subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to modify a Saab 340B into a flying hybrid electric testbed for the recently awarded NASA Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project.
Bell Textron has successfully demonstrated operation of its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 unmanned cargo aircraft with a ground-based detect and avoid system as part of broader infrastructure development efforts for advanced air mobility.
Bloomberg’s Hyperdrive newsletter outlines several actions taken in China relative to electric power and autonomy that could be harbingers of what’s up next around the world.
Working with Deutsche Aircraft, Germany’s H2Fly is planning to fly a 40-seat Dornier 328 regional aircraft modified to hydrogen-electric propulsion in 2026, and the companies are aiming for certification and market entry in 2028.
Universal Hydrogen has completed a 1-megawatt iron bird for ground testing of its zero-emissions fuel-cell propulsion system and announced the first customer in France for its regional aircraft conversion.
Composites have a critical role to play in the advanced air mobility industry, and it goes beyond enabling lightweight vehicles believes Solvay, the Brussels-headquartered international chemicals company.
Already cooperating with the U.S. Air Force through its Agility Prime program, startup Beta Technologies has received a contract from the U.S. Army to support flight testing of its Alia electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
