Archer said the agreement supports its vision of being a leader in the first wave of urban air mobility providers with the goal of beginning passenger services by 2024.
U.S.-based emergency air transport provider Hatzolah Air has placed four preorders for an air ambulance version of the CityHawk vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle under development by Israel’s Urban Aeronautics.
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.
Japanese express delivery company Yamato Holdings is collaborating with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the design of a cargo pod for an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aerial logistics system that the company plans to introduce early this decade.
The FAA on Dec. 28 announced final rules requiring that drones be capable of being tracked and identified from the ground, taking a major step toward opening the airspace to more regular flights of small unmanned aircraft systems.
Competitors wasted little time taking advantage of the U.S. Commerce Department announcement that it had added Chinese drone manufacturer DJI to its export blacklist.
Epirus, a startup building high-power microwave (HPM) applications for UAV deployment, closed a $70 million funding round that included an investment by L3Harris Technologies.
Altitude Angel and Inmarsat have demonstrated a deployable UTM system that incorporates satellite communications to track drones flying beyond the visual range of an operator.
Air taxi startup Blade Urban Air Mobility will be taken over by a special purpose acquisition company, setting up what could become the first publicly traded electric-powered air vehicle service provider as the technology emerges this decade.
German air rescue service ADAC Luftrettung has reserved two VoloCity electric air taxis from Volocopter to prepare for operational emergency medical service tests of the piloted multicopters in 2023.
EHang has received an experimental flight permit in Austria allowing it to begin flight trials of the two-seat EH216 autonomous air vehicle with partner FACC.
South Korean automaker Hyundai has restated its ambition to dominate the global urban air mobility market and outlined plans to develop a family of passenger and cargo vehicles to be fielded beginning in 2026.
Joby Aviation has become the first manufacturer to receive airworthiness approval for its electric air taxi under the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime initiative.
German startup Lilium has partnered with Lufthansa Flight Training to develop a pilot sourcing and training program that will support its planned global deployment of regional air mobility services.
Germany’s Volocopter has committed to launching air taxi service in Singapore within three years using its piloted two-seat VoloCity all-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle.
Joby Aviation has signed a long-term supply agreement with Toray Advanced Composites for materials to support production of the California-based aerospace manufacturer’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) urban air transport aircraft.
Chinese electric air taxi developer EHang is adapting its business model to become an operator as well as the manufacturer of its autonomous air vehicles.
