Emerging Technologies

As the aviation world begins to strongly focus on sustainability, it is perhaps no surprise that UK engine-maker Rolls Royce is leading the charge.

In this edition of Insight we are delighted to welcome to the programme His Excellency Ibrahim Al-Omar, the Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation.

Boeing-backed startup demonstrates first multi-orbit, multi-link satcom connectivity.

Aviation Week Executive Editor for Technology Graham Warwick discusses the introduction of electrically driven aircraft.

Preventing contrails; Chinese eVTOL unveiled; certifying fuel cells; hybrid Panthera flies; and cleaning orbits magnetically.

The family of Energia-branded concepts—with all-electric, hybrid-electric or hydrogen-fueled propulsion for low emissions and noise—are aimed to enter into service between 2030 and 2040.

A Qatar Airways Airbus A380 took to the skies for the first time in more than 18 months.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air France, Anne Rigail, has hosted a special networking reception at the French pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The Air Force and Navy have defined requirements for a new fleet of tactical aircraft that defy capabilities of existing jet trainers.

During the COVID-19 crisis, virtual control centers would have helped in adjusting resources to market needs.

Wright believes that by 2026 both hydrogen and aluminum fuel cells can meet its requirement for around 10 megawatt hours of energy storage on the BAe 146 to enable 1-hr. flights on routes of 400 nm or shorter.

Evolito is a new UK company bringing a new power-dense electric-motor architecture to aerospace.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched an initiative to accelerate the commercialization of decarbonizing technologies by leveraging collective demand from companies prepared to commit to purchases by 2030.

The Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM) has released a report on the potential of Toronto as an early market as it works toward releasing a national road map for Canada.

The 40-min. flight was operated by an Airbus A320neo powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines from Madrid Barajas Airport to the northern city of Bilbao.

Austria’s CycloTech is in discussions on the first application of its cyclorotor electric propulsion system after completing initial hover flight tests of a subscale demonstrator.

Heat-exchanger technology developed by Reaction Engines for its Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine could help transform ammonia into a green aviation fuel.

In 2022, the U.S. Air Force plans to have government pilots fly prototype eVTOL aircraft on military bases as part of the Agility Prime program, to evaluate potential use cases as the service moves toward fielding an initial tranche of vehicles in fiscal 2023.

OneWeb’s Vice President mobility services - Ben Griffin, explains to Technology and Space editor Steve Nichols why the London-headquartered satellite operator has seen a “huge amount of interest” from airlines, and is currently “working with and talking to a good number” of carriers.

A discussion with Lux Capital Co-Founder Josh Wolfe and Partner Bilal Zuberi about where the venture capital investment company is placing its bets and how it pinpoints successful new aerospace and defense technologies.

Auxiliary propulsion to improve the positioning accuracy and gust response of drones is an early opportunity for cyclorotors.

Skyborg is the tip of the iceberg in a multiservice push to bring autonomous control systems from laboratories to the battlefield.

The company is ground-testing a 2-megawatt electric motor and ultimately plans to develop a 180-seat zero-emission short-haul airliner.

Germany’s MTU Aero Engines has partnered with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to develop certification requirements for hydrogen fuel cells in aircraft.

Rolls-Royce and Qatar Foundation will enter into a long-term partnership to create a global centre for climate technology innovation.