In South Korea Volocopter and Kakao Mobility are to study the feasibility of operating UAM services, a technology that Seoul wants to see commercialized by 2025.
The move comes as GE Aviation Engine Services Singapore prepares to hire 300 new staff in 2022 to get ready for the expected post-pandemic recovery in the Asia-Pacific region.
Astra Space, a California-based startup staking a claim in the burgeoning small-satellite launch business, completed a successful flight test of its Rocket 3.1 booster on Nov. 20, a mission backed by the U.S. Space Force.
Unmanned cargo aircraft startup Elroy Air has partnered with humanitarian transport operator AYR Logistics to develop an autonomous aerial delivery service. AYR has committed to purchasing up to 100 of Elroy’s Chaparral vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft.
Voyager Space, a private equity-backed holding company of new-space upstarts such as Nanoracks, announced Nov. 22 it has acquired a majority stake in Space Micro, a satellite communications specialist for NASA and the U.S. military.
Flight services provider DroneUp and Walmart have agreed to launch on-demand package deliveries by drone at three Walmart stores in northwest Arkansas, the companies announced Nov. 22.
Dubai has launched a program to enable drone transportation by creating an infrastructure to test unmanned aircraft in designated areas and develop legislation to enable their implementation.
The 10 years that separate the first hover flights of the Volocopter VC1 and eMagic Aircraft’s eMagic One illustrate the advances made in a decade by electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing technology.
Chinese electric vertical takeoff and landing startup AutoFlight has identified European technology investor Lukasz Gadowski as the source of the $100 million Series A investment announced in September.
Solar-powered aircraft developer Skydweller Aero has partnered with Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica to explore the use of its long-endurance unmanned aircraft to expand cellular coverage.
The two companies will work together on choosing the optimum routes and altitudes for Etihad aircraft to fly at with the aim of inhibiting contrails—a phenomenon that significantly contributes to global warming.
A growing number of seasoned aerospace executives are bringing their experience to startups working to disrupt aviation. The latest is Fred Cromer, the former President of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
Flytrex’s delivery system uses a multicopter drone that flies autonomously beyond line of sight and hovers to safely lower the package by wire to the customer in the ground.
Honeywell and Riyadh Airports Company (RAC) have signed MoU to explore the use of Honeywell technologies that enable integration and automation at King Khalid International Airport.
Russian Helicopters and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bangladesh have signed a contract for the delivery of two Mi-171A2 heavy multipurpose helicopters.
