Emerging Technologies

GE Aerospace is stepping up assembly plans for its XA102 adaptive cycle engine prototype, with around a quarter of the hardware components now on order.

Collaboration among government, universities and the private sector is critical for the U.S. to lead in advanced air mobility.

Initial requirements released by the Navy favor a large, fighter-size aircraft for autonomous combat roles.

Nonprofit Fermi Explorer plans an inexpensive interstellar spacecraft mission to Alpha Centauri, arriving roughly 80,000 years later.

Montana Renewables revises its SAF expansion plan, tripling capacity with just 10% of the original investment by repurposing existing equipment.

SESAR's IRINA 2 program seeks to integrate remotely piloted aircraft into European airspace alongside conventional traffic.

Sceye flies solar-powered HAPS vehicle from New Mexico to Japan, demonstrating cellular communications and emergency services from the stratosphere.

South Korea will launch RISE in 2027, advancing UAM technologies toward urban commercial operations targeted for 2032.

SpaceX plans to cast its own turbine blades, disrupting the aeroengine market as data centers drive unprecedented demand for power.

Europe’s premier air-to-air missile is far from finished while the UK develops a next-generation option.

The demonstration mission was sponsored by Space Systems Command and NASA.

JetZero secures $100 million loan to advance its BWB demonstrator and build a manufacturing campus in North Carolina, targeting first flight in 2027.

Container-transporting turboprop; heavy-lifting drones; Nvidia’s AI at the edge; and NASA backs university research.

FAA launches Beyond Phase 2, expanding partnerships to address challenges preventing routine BVLOS drone operations nationwide.

Saab is challenging the low-cost, attritable model adopted by Sweden’s allies with a supersonic, survivable complement to Gripen.

The U.S. Navy pushes for high-energy lasers on ships, aiming to enhance fleet defense by overcoming engineering challenges and boosting industry involvement.

NASA awards $20 million to Infleqtion to advance space-based quantum gravity sensors, enabling resource mapping and precise spacecraft navigation systems.

ZeroAvia has appointed Christine Ourmières-Widener—the former chief executive of TAP Air Portugal and Flybe—as its new CEO, with immediate effect.

Regent Craft has raised $240 million in a Series B funding round as it prepares for first flight of its full-scale Viceroy electric seaglider and begins transitioning its recently completed manufacturing facility toward production.

ITP Aero aims to stake a claim in whatever future engines emerge for next-generation single-aisle airliners through a four-year program of demonstrators.

Seoul is exploring pathways to future combat aircraft, but questions about design and propulsion could take years to sort out.

Zuri unveils hybrid-electric cargo VTOL, aiming for faster revenue with maritime logistics while pursuing passenger aircraft development.

Wing tests Nvidia’s Jetson Orin Nano 2 AI module to improve drone delivery with faster perception, reasoning and energy-efficient autonomous systems.

Katherine Lemke is a 2026 20 Twenties winner and an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech. Her innovative work focuses on advancing sustainable aviation and applied aerospace design through cutting-edge propulsion systems and autonomous vehicle technology.

Singapore offers a blueprint for how the bottlenecks that have held back additive manufacturing can be overcome.