Airbus Helicopters has adapted an H130 light helicopter as a flying laboratory to test technology for urban air mobility, hybrid-electric flight and new flight safety systems.
Bell has flight tested a different configuration for its Autonomous Pod Transport unmanned cargo aircraft to show that the vehicle design is flexible and can be scaled and customized for potential customers.
Transporting passengers between London City and London Heathrow Airports is one potential application of urban air mobility in the UK that will be studied by a consortium led by Eve, the spinoff from EmbraerX.
Vehicle developers ranging from Airbus to startup Ascendance Flight Technologies are among 30 companies that have been selected to participate in urban air mobility testing in Paris beginning in June.
Counting drones among his final priorities as U.S. president, Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 18 that directs the heads of federal agencies to determine if they have legal authority to stop using, acquiring or funding the purchase of foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems.
AeroVironment on Jan. 13 announced its second major acquisition in as many months, unveiling a deal to buy Arcturus UAV, a privately-held provider of Group 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and contractor-owned services to military customers.
Retired Airbus CEO Thomas Enders has joined the board of Lilium, adding the weight of his reputation to the German startup’s ambitious plans to launch a regional air mobility service by 2025.
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.
