Emerging Technologies

New efforts to field drones rapidly include Drone Dominance scrimmages and an easy-to-use portal on which to order UAS.

Nuclear fusion rocket power; Matrix autonomy joins the Army; ship-to-shore contested logistics; and sulfur’s role in contrails formation.

Airbus is leading a flight test campaign to measure the effect of sulfur content in jet fuel on contrail formation and mitigation.

The agency wants commercial companies to take on a larger role in its Artemis lunar exploration initiative.

NASA aeronautics, hit by cuts and losses, is being revitalized under Administrator Jared Isaacman with a focus on experimental X-planes.

The French startup is shifting to pusher-propeller propulsion and tougher certification requirements.

Industry, higher education and airport authorities are collaborating to launch eVTOL integration in New York.

Navi AI emerges from stealth with generative-AI automated debriefing system for flight schools.

Applications of AI to disruption management are among the areas targeted as IAG opens applications for the 10th year of its IAGi innovation accelerator program.

Universal Hydrogen’s demise and Airbus’ slowdown of its ZEROe hydrogen project questioned the feasibility of the technology in aviation. The remaining players have strikingly contrasting approaches in their projects.

Laser-based satellite-aircraft links gain traction for future inflight connectivity, offering higher speeds but facing cloud interference and high costs.

As interest in reusable hypersonic flight soars, Stratolaunch is moving to capitalize on its first-mover advantage in a fast-moving industry.

Russia started deployment of its first national low-orbit satellite internet constellation similar to Starlink or Oneweb.

Panasonic Avionics, is developing a system capable of switching from one satellite constellation to another, including China’s planned Spacesail.

Aether Fuels is advancing plans for a Southeast Asia facility capable of producing 100,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually.

Truncated flight for X-59; UK Royal Mail flies electric; contrail avoidance success; and high-voltage electric demo.

Prior to the Iran war, the leading fear among investors had been how disruptive AI could be to many business sectors. But not in aerospace and defense.

NASA is hoping for a speedy return to flight after the second sortie by its already-delayed X-59 Quesst low-boom supersonic demonstrator was cut short.

Seeing shortcomings in their support to the aviation sector, EU officials and members of the European Parliament are considering a more comprehensive approach.

The French government has named Emmanuel Chiva chairman and CEO of aerospace research and technology center Onera.

China Southern Airlines has participated in what is described as China’s first full-chain sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) uplift.

UK regional airline Loganair has launched electric aircraft flight demonstrations with Beta Technologies and the UK’s Royal Mail.

EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas has named competitiveness as the “overriding objective” of Europe’s new aviation strategy.

European airline CEOs meeting in Brussels say mandates imposing the use of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should be delayed.

Pratt & Whitney Canada and Collins Aerospace are designing a hybrid-electric propulsion system for research and technology purposes.