Emerging Technologies

Europe’s research on composite materials targets further weight reduction in airframes as well as sovereignty in engine production.

The new UltraFan demonstrator program is gearing up as Rolls advances plans to challenge CFM and Pratt & Whitney for the next-generation single-aisle market.

Fifty-seven years after the first flight of the Anglo-French Concorde, is aviation really closer to returning to a new age of commercial supersonic travel?

Studies toward composite materials able to withstand higher temperatures for applications in an engine’s environment are in full swing.

Self-healing composites; supercooled-droplet icing detector; and new flight rules for advanced air mobility.

A Hypersonix Launch Systems vehicle completed its first flight late on Feb. 27, propelled to Mach 5-plus speeds by a Rocket Lab HASTE rocket.

Rolls-Royce unveils the UltraFan 30 engine concept for next-gen single-aisle aircraft, targeting 20% fuel efficiency and advanced aerodynamics by late 2030s.

Honeywell’s methanol-to-jet tech powers e-SAF production for Verso Energy’s plants in Europe and the U.S., advancing sustainable aviation fuel innovation.

Rolls-Royce sees multiple partnership opportunities to bring to market a new narrowbody engine as the company gears up to ground test demonstrator hardware.

Airbus Helicopters is actively exploring a European derivative of the H145-based autonomous Lakota connector aircraft it is developing for the U.S. Marine Corps.

A better understanding of composite materials’ internal defects may enable further weight reduction of aircraft structures.

Airbus is exploring the potential of a reconfigurable compound rotorcraft that would allow military users to both install and remove a proprotor system.

U.S. startup MightyFly has raised $10 million to accelerate development and early deployments of its autonomous hybrid eVTOL logistics aircraft.

Three sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) registries have partnered on a pilot project to minimize the risk of double-counting.

Even if eSAF developers manage to secure long-term airline offtake agreements, they are not likely to be recognized as bankable by financiers, experts say.

A Lockheed Martin F-35 used a tactical AI model to solve a combat identification problem in real-time during a company-led flight demonstration of sixth-generation fighter technology.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' CEO says the company plans to boost output of its Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft and that its hypersonic defense business is also on an upward trajectory.

Heeding lessons from modern battlefields, the U.S. Army is transforming the aviation branch with autonomous technology at all levels.

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

Embry-Riddle and aviation tech company Navi AI have developed a tool that delivers tailored AI-generated feedback to reinforce flight instructor lessons.

Hypersonic test company Stratolaunch has completed back-to-back launches of two Mach 5-plus, rocket-powered Talon-A vehicles from two different carrier aircraft in the space of just fourteen days.

Sustainable aviation fuel producer Neste and distributor World Fuel Services are aiming to make Neste SAF available at more than 100 airports across Europe over the next five years.

The eVTOL sector has converged around 4-6 passengers as optimal for urban air taxis. China’s AutoFlight wants to turn that on its head.

Production of JetZero’s BWB demonstrator is underway, beginning with assembly of the pressurized cockpit section and forward fuselage.

MHI has demonstrated an integrated production process for synthesizing liquid fuels that may produce SAF at a cost competitive with fossil jet fuel.