The light aircraft manufacturer has prioritized development of large cargo UAVs because of increasing indications that the entry into service of electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing air taxis could slip to 2028.
Beta Technologies and Joby Aviation are the first developers of urban air mobility vehicles to progress to the third stage of the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program.
DARPA and the Office of Naval Research plan to launch a joint project to develop a vertical-takeoff-and-landing tactical unmanned aircraft system that could replace the Insitu ScanEagle and eliminate any reliance on launch and recovery infrastructure.
Zipline and Novant Health announced on May 27 that they have received emergency approval from the FAA to fly medical supplies by drone to a hospital north of Charlotte, North Carolina, to support its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK has launched the second phase of a £300 million ($366 million) challenge to develop a novel aviation system enabling safe operation of new types of aircraft including delivery drones, urban air taxis and electric regional aircraft.
House Republicans have stepped up a campaign spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to ground the drones that Chinese manufacturer DJI has loaned or donated to local police departments to support their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boeing and the UK Civil Aviation Authority are to work together on developing requirements for beyond-visual-line-of-sight unmanned flight operations as a steppingstone toward a future mobility ecosystem.
