Emerging Technologies

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.

Printing drone batteries, visualizing hydrogen, hybrid cargo UAV, modeling next-gen fleets.

Heathrow Airport said it is making $109 million in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) funding available this year.

Flight tests of an experimental low-drag laminar flow stub wing section are underway at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

SkyNRG has closed the financing for its first SAF production facility, in the north Netherlands, which is planned to become operational in mid-2028.

Proliferation of false GPS signals presents a growing danger for airlines.

As Airbus and Boeing prepare next-generation narrowbody aircraft, they are focusing on drastically cutting fuel consumption. A new deicing method may assist.

“We’ve just barely got to 2% by 2026 ... [with] no prospect of getting to 6% by 2030; they’ll just move to the right," Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said in Paris.

JetZero is continuing talks with potential propulsion partners on the unique engine requirements of its blended-wing-body (BWB) airliner.

A growing number of reports from academic and nongovernmental organizations indicates that aviation is falling short of its decarbonization targets.