Emerging Technologies

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

In this week’s podcast, we go behind the scenes for a glimpse into how the cover story of the Jan 11-24 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology took

Landmark flight on one of Air Force’s oldest designs paves way for use of artificial intelligence in military aircraft and spacecraft.

From flight trainers to regional miniliners, European light aircraft manufacturers are moving to exploit propulsion electrification.

Germany joins race for European vertical smallsat launch competing with Norway, Sweden, Portugal and the UK.

A half-dozen startups are making the pace in the race to unlock UAM, with at least as many close behind. Who will be the winners?

South Korea is to establish an urban air mobility (UAM) test site in the southern coastal town of Goheung under a national plan to commercialize air taxi services by 2025.

The Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) is an air traffic control organisation based in Dakar, Senegal. It came into being more than 60 years ago and manages 16.1 million square kilometres of airspace. Vincent Chappard met the organisation’s director general, Mohamed Moussa.

Ask the Editors: Progress on the production and liquefaction infrastructures for hydrogen could mean big things for aviation.

COVID-19 may force companies to change their supply chains, workforces and digital resilience.

Rolls-Royce has completed the taxiing of its ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft, the latest milestone on its journey to becoming the world’s fastest all-electric plane.

Qatar Airways Cargo has announced Chapter 2 of its sustainability programme WeQare: Rewild the Planet.

Emirates has partnered with GE Digital Aviation Software and TE FOOD to trial TrustOne, a mobile app that allows passengers to undergo COVID-19 PCR tests at special discounted rates.

Industry players are stepping up commitments, research and programs to meet industry sustainability targets of halving carbon emissions by 2050

Industrial and regional changes open vast new opportunities for Israel’s defense sector.

With U.S. hypersonic weapon testing poised to ramp up, NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $70 million contract to support the SkyRange program to field a long-range, flight-test data collection capability based on high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft.

Speaking at the 7th Meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Tourism Crisis Committee last week, ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu emphasised that a combination of measures, coordinated between governments and industry, will be essential to the re-establishment of public confidence in air travel.

Addressing the ICAO Global Symposium on the Implementation of Innovation in Aviation today, ICAO’s leaders highlighted the sector’s high reliance on innovation to address pandemic recovery and future sustainability.

Startup ZeroAvia has raised $37.7 million in funding to develop a zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system to power 19-seat regional airliners.

Honeywell International’s venture capital arm has invested in DarwinAI, an “explainable” artificial intelligence (AI) company located in Waterloo, Canada.

A decade of research and simulation is transitioning into a flight test series of autonomous aircraft projects in 2021.

French company Moment, which specialises in on-board digital solutions and has a large footprint in Africa, is currently working on a trial with French aviation group Amelia (by Regourd Aviation) to implement Moment’s Flymingo box aboard its planes.

The UK is looking to use alternative, sustainable fuels for its combat aircraft and helicopters in a bid to lower carbon emissions.

Ask the Editors: Aviation will see less demand due to COVID-19, so the introduction of long-haul narrowbodies is unlikely to gain steam.

Turkish Aerospace (TAI) has signed a partnership agreement with Boeing as part of a continued effort to develop high-tech products locally.