In July 2019, research and development center Tecnalia in Spain’s Basque region conducted tethered indoor test flights of the prototype of an unusual “drone of drones” design for an autonomous air taxi. Now Spanish unmanned aircraft services provider Umiles has acquired the design from Tecnalia with the goal of producing the first 100% domestically developed electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
Italian and French airport operators have formed a company, Urban Blue, with international ambitions to design, build and manage the vertiport infrastructure for urban air mobility.
Chinese Tesla rival XPeng has unveiled a “flying car,” a two-seat, supercar-style electric vehicle that transforms into a twin-rotor helicopter, under development by its affiliate HT Aero.
Airflow has signed a memorandum of understanding with Honeywell to explore use of the avionics manufacturer’s IntuVue RDR-84K compact multimode radar for detect-and-avoid on its planned electric short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
Citing increased confidence following static tests of its ultraquiet electric propulsors, startup Whisper Aero has accelerated plans to use the technology in a quiet, efficient electric general aviation aircraft.
Korea Aerospace Industries has unveiled plans to develop commercial and military versions of an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle, in passenger and unmanned cargo variants.
A white paper outlining the benefits of advanced air mobility, created by a group of UK stakeholders, lays out an ambitious road map of actions required by 2025 if the country is to become a leader in the emerging market.
Singapore-headquartered H3 Dynamics has closed a $26 million funding round to develop hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft for longer-range parcel and cargo delivery.
ABB’s E-mobility unit will develop, test and supply the MegaWatt fast-charging infrastructure required for the quick turnaround times needed for electric aviation.
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DHL Express plans to demonstrate the use of delivery drones for port logistics in a joint initiative with Malaysian aviation services company Pen Aviation and local cargo operator Raya Airways.
Munich Airport International (MAI) and Urban-Air Port will partner to develop electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing infrastructure and operations based on UAP’s infrastructure technology and solutions.
The head of strategy for Rolls-Royce Electrical says as electric aviation develops, so too must the aftermarket services for this new category of aircraft.
The European Space Agency and UK air navigation service provider NATS are exploring whether 5G cellular communications technology could help to provide a resilient positioning capability for uncrewed air systems.
Backed by Chinese electric car maker XPeng, startup HT Aero has reached agreement to raise more than $500 million to develop an integrated flying and driving vehicle.
A central tenet of Uber’s Elevate vision for urban aerial ride sharing was that this is commercial air transport—aircraft owned by airlines and flown by professional pilots plying between vertiports.
