During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Air Force secretary Frank Kendall told U.S. lawmakers he will get in the cockpit of an artificial intelligence-controlled fighter jet.

Kendall said the flight is intended to allow him to observe the technology underlying the Air Force’s future fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which will pair crewed jets with fleets of tiny, buzzing, autonomous drones. A second pilot will join the Air Force secretary, but neither will actually fly the aircraft—a modified F-16—except in case of emergency.

The U.S. is investing plenty of money into the CCA. According to the Associated Press, the Air Force requested $559 million in its upcoming budget to support the program, out of a total budget request of $188.1 billion. The department’s 2025 fiscal year begins October 1. For the 2024 defense spending bill, the U.S. Department of Defense requested $1.8 billion worth of artificial intelligence investments.

“We have a cost problem with the aircraft that we’re buying now,” Kendall said in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, during a hearing for the Air Force and Space Force fiscal year 2025 budget request. “Our fighters are very expensive. The F-35 and the F-15EX cost about $100 million each, NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) will cost over $300 million and will be bought in small numbers.

“The uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft give us an opportunity to address the cost and the quantity issues with relatively inexpensive but very highly cost-effective platforms that we add to the fleet.”

The Air Force earlier this month welcomed three F-16s to Eglin Air Force Base (KVPS) in Florida, where they will be modified for autonomous testing. The modifications are part of the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model-Autonomy Flying Testbed program, or VENOM-AFT, which supports CCA with funding for autonomous software testing on crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

VENOM-AFT testing will be performed by the Air Force’s 40th Flight Test Squadron and 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. Personnel will monitor the autonomy system during flight and provide feedback.

Additionally, the Air Force Research Laboratory this month received a $4 million grant to build an AI and machine learning research center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (KFFO) in Ohio.

Kendall’s comments on Tuesday come amid the backdrop of China’s rising military might, particularly in the air.

Drones manufactured in China have been spotted on the battlefield in Eastern Europe and the Levant, where they have inflicted devastating attacks on troops, infrastructure, and civilians. Chinese manufacturer DJI is considered the largest seller of consumer drones. But many cheaply bought DJI products have been modified for use in combat, prompting wariness among U.S. lawmakers.

Kendall urged senators to modernize the department’s technology, warning that any further budget delays could give China a leg up. The budget for the current fiscal year was enacted in March, more than six months later than intended.

“Time matters, but so do resources,” Kendall said. “The United States is also now facing a competitor with national purchasing power that exceeds our own, a challenge we have never faced in modern times.”

Beyond the CCA, the DOD is also building up an army of “small, smart, cheap” drones through the Replicator initiative, announced by Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in August.

According to Hicks and other senior officials, the plan is to produce “multiple thousands” of systems that are attritable, meaning they could be lost or shot down with minimal impact to U.S. military capabilities. These drones would be ideal for high-risk operations in which the chance of a crash or takedown is likely.

Hicks said the objective is to “outmatch” China. But William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, clarified that Replicator systems will be distinct from CCA aircraft. However, LaPlante added that Replicator drones could be “very complementary” to the CCA initiative.

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Autonomous flight systems provider Merlin Labs is stepping up its quest for a supplemental type certificate (STC).

The company on Wednesday announced it completed the build of its Certification System Bench, a flight test simulator designed to speed its path to an STC. The simulator contains the company’s certifiable software and hardware components and is located at its Boston headquarters.

An STC is issued by a regulator when a company intends to modify an aerospace product from its initial, type-certified design. The approval authorizes the modification and how it will affect the original product.

In the case of Merlin, the company is seeking an STC from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for Merlin Pilot, its platform-agnostic, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system for fixed-wing aircraft. Pilot uses an array of sensors to understand the state of the aircraft and its surroundings. The firm is working toward concurrent validation with the FAA through a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between it and the CAA.

However, Merlin’s goal, at least in the short term, is not to remove the pilot from the cockpit entirely. Rather, it intends to supplement pilot workloads to combat the ongoing pilot shortage.

“In many ways, the Certification System Bench acts as a testing ‘funnel,’” said Sherif Ali, chief engineer for Merlin Pilot. “It allows us to test hundreds of cases with speed and ease, selecting edge cases to take to in-flight testing. As a result, we’re able to reduce the use of our test aircraft and keep it for limited cases only.”

The Certification System Bench will allow Merlin to test its automation systems from its headquarters, with no limitations due to factors such as weather, maintenance schedules, or pilot availability. The company says it provides a one-to-one replica of its in-flight technology, with three screens representing the pilot deck, instrument panels, and primary flight display.

The technology is equipped with the same software and hardware components found within the Pilot system. Further, cameras installed on the Bench allow Merlin’s global team to access it and perform testing remotely.

“With pilots on the Certification System Bench, we are able to learn multitudes about human factors while gaining accreditation towards our STC,” said Ali. “No other company in the sector has put more resources towards this type of testing simulator.”

According to Merlin, the Certification System Bench represents a “significant investment” for the firm—costing millions of dollars more than its actual aircraft—but one that will be worthwhile.

The company says ground tests on the Certification System Bench are accredited by aviation regulators, allowing those evaluations to contribute toward STC approval. Further, the technology should allow testing to become more routine. Technicians won’t need to worry about heavy rain or malfunctioning aircraft parts.

“Ensuring the Merlin Pilot is robust, safe, and reliable is our top priority, which underscores this [Certification] System Bench build as a huge milestone in Merlin’s certification journey,” said Matt George, founder and CEO of Merlin. “It took the team six months to design, vet solutions for, and build the Certification System Bench to extremely stringent specifications.”

Merlin is taking a “crawl-walk-run” approach to certification and operations, beginning with testing with the FAA and CAA, from which it recently obtained Part 135 operator approval. The next step will be to fly small aircraft with reduced crews, relying mostly on Pilot but augmented by a safety pilot. After that, the company intends to remove crews from small aircraft and reduce crews on larger aircraft.

Merlin received the first certification basis for an autonomous flight system from the CAA in 2023. Last year, Pilot also became the first autonomy system to secure U.S. National Airspace System integration and FAA validation, following agency-contracted uncrewed cargo network trials in Alaska, the company says.

Pilot so far has been integrated on five different aircraft types, including Dynamic Aviation’s fleet of Beechcraft King Airs and several aircraft from Ameriflight, the largest Part 135 cargo airline in the U.S.

Merlin further has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Air Force, through which it has modified several military transport aircraft. In 2022, the company tested single-pilot crews aboard a Lockheed Martin C130J Hercules and conducted an autonomous refueling mission using a KC-46A Pegasus with no copilot.

In February, the partners extended their collaboration to demonstrate Pilot on a KC-135 Stratotanker. Merlin expects in-flight trials to begin next year, starting with a series of basic air refueling operations.

However, Merlin is not the only autonomous flight systems partner working with the Air Force. The department also has relationships with providers such as Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and rotorcraft manufacturer Sikorsky, which is developing an autonomy suite called Matrix.

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More than two decades ago, Concorde, the only successful supersonic airliner, was retired for good. But Friday, at Mojave Air & Space Port (KMHV) in California—where the Bell X-1 broke the sound barrier for the first time in 1947—another supersonic aircraft made its maiden voyage.

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 jet demonstrator did not reach supersonic speeds during the test flight. But the inaugural flight of the aircraft—a precursor to Boom’s supersonic, sustainable aviation fuel-powered Overture—marks a key milestone nonetheless.

“When I last flew Concorde in 2003, I knew that this day would come,” said Captain Mike Bannister, former chief Concorde pilot for British Airways. “The first flight of the XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is a significant achievement toward making sustainable supersonic flight a reality.”

The XB-1, which Boom says is the world’s first independently developed civil supersonic jet, combines carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally optimized aerodynamics, and an advanced supersonic propulsion system. These technologies will also be present on Overture, which is being developed to carry 64-80 at twice the speed of subsonic airliners.

The demonstrator is 62.6 feet long with a 21-foot wingspan. Its three GE J85-15 engines produce a combined max thrust of 12,300 pounds of force. Boom chief test pilot Bill “Doc” Shoemaker took it off the runway at Mojave Air & Space Port, flying in the same airspace that has hosted many historic first flights.

“I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.

A T-38 chase aircraft monitored the XB-1 in the air, verifying factors such as altitude, airspeed, and airworthiness during flight. The company performed an initial assessment of the XB-1’s handling qualities, including airspeed checks with the chase aircraft, and assessed its stability in the landing attitude at a high angle of attack.

According to Boom, the aircraft met all of its test objectives. These included achieving an altitude of 7,120 feet and speeds up to 238 knots (273 mph).

The test flight is meant to validate the XB-1’s key technologies, such as an augmented reality vision system comprising two nose-mounted cameras that feed a high-resolution pilot display.

Another crucial component tested was the engine, which converts kinetic energy to pressure energy with supersonic intakes that slow supersonic air to subsonic speeds. Boom says this will allow conventional jet engines to power Overture from takeoff through supersonic flight.

The next step for the engineering team will be expanding the flight envelope for the XB-1. That will allow it to validate its performance and handling qualities through and beyond Mach 1, speeds Overture is expected to reach.

Boom intends for Overture to fly at Mach 1.7, or just over 1,300 mph. For comparison, Concorde flew at Mach 2. But unlike Concorde, Overture is designed to run on 100 percent SAF.

Leonardo is the engineering lead for the Overture’s fuselage structural components integration and will manufacture the aircraft’s composite structure. Other parts that will come from suppliers include wings designed by Aernnova, nacelles manufactured by Collins Aerospace, and Honeywell’s Anthem flight deck.

Scholl previously told The New York Times that the company’s goal is to fly passengers anywhere in the world within four hours—for only $100. That’s inexpensive compared to most one-way commercial flights, let alone Concorde, which cost passengers thousands of dollars.

However, don’t worry about supersonic booms over your backyard. Overture will only fly supersonic on overwater routes, since the FAA has banned it over the continental U.S.

Boom’s order backlog for Overture includes 130 orders and preorders, including 15 aircraft for American Airlines and 20 apiece for United Airlines and Japan Airlines.

The manufacturer’s $60 million U.S. Air Force contract should help speed development of the aircraft, giving it a potential customer as well. Boom is also partnered with Northrop Grumman to design a special mission variant of Overture for potential U.S. military operations, disaster response, and high-speed surveillance.

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Correction: Rotor selected Robinson as its platform of choice, but the latter is not involved in the development of the R550X, as a previous version of this story stated.

Rotor Technologies has unveiled the first production uncrewed aircraft built on the Robinson Helicopter Company platform.

The manufacturer of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft on Wednesday revealed the R550X helicopter to the public for the first time. The uncrewed aircraft, which is based on the design of Robinson’s R44 Raven II, was on display at Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, from February 27-29.

In December, Rotor said it expects the aircraft to fly commercially in the U.S. this year, followed by an international expansion. The partners claim that greater automation will drive safety, scalability, and expanded mission profiles for helicopters.

The R550X is the first production uncrewed aircraft to be built on the Robinson platform. Rotor first announced the design in December with plans to build two models, intended to be delivered to agricultural aircraft operators for crop spraying.

However, the helicopter is also designed for utility, maritime, and cargo operations—specifically, in situations where the pilot might be exposed to a hazardous environment or which are too difficult for lighter aircraft.

The experimental category aircraft has a 1,200-pound payload with no pilot, capable of flying for three hours at a top speed of 130 ktas. Its range extends beyond the vast majority of drones and eVTOL air taxis, the partners claim.

The R550X’s lidar system provides 360-degree situational awareness, which enables flights at night or in low visibility. Onboard software, meanwhile, helps avoid accidents such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions, loss of control, mast bumping, and controlled flight into terrain.

A static prototype of the design called the Spirit of New Hampshire—which completed its first live test flight in January before guest of honor Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire—was on display at Heli-Expo alongside a Robinson police helicopter, implying at least one potential use case. Visitors could interact with the aircraft’s lidar systems, camera, and synthetic vision.

The R550X will continue its North American tour next month with a planned display at Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) Xponential in San Diego, which begins April 22. The following month, the partners intend to take it to Vertical Flight Society’s (VFS) Forum 80 in Montréal, starting May 7.

Rotor CEO Hector Xu added that he and newly minted Robinson CEO David Smith are developing plans to begin low-rate manufacturing for the aircraft.

“David and I share a common product vision,” said Xu. “Our collaboration will combine Rotor’s technology with Robinson’s dynamic and scalable supply chain to deliver the world’s most capable commercial uncrewed VTOL.”

Heli-Expo marked a major leadership transition for Robinson, which has had just three chief executives across its 50-year history. Smith replaced Kurt Robinson, the son of Robinson founder and aviation pioneer Frank Robinson, as CEO in February. The company positioned Smith as a fresh face, emphasizing his commitment to innovation, expanded manufacturing capabilities, and the development of new product initiatives.

“I look forward to working with the more than 400 service centers and dealers and the more than 1,100 employees of [Robinson] as we pursue new products, markets, partnerships, and technologies,” said Smith.

Rotor is not the only company exploring automation with Robinson rotorcraft.

In 2022, an R66 single-engine helicopter completed the first Guinness World Records-certified automated autorotation procedure for an emergency landing. Skyryse, whose technology was installed on the aircraft, will sell a retrofit R66 called Skyryse One for about $2 million. But the model will not be capable of fully uncrewed flight.

Robinson competitor Sikorsky, owned by Lockheed Martin, is also exploring uncrewed prototypes. The manufacturer last year unveiled an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL concept called HEX, which it said will be the first in a family of self-flying VTOL models. Last month, it revealed that the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing design.

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Drones, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis may fly in the U.K. as soon as 2028, according to the country’s Department for Transport (DfT).

The DfT on Monday released the Future of Flight action plan: a joint blueprint created by industry and government stakeholders that aims to get eVTOL air taxis, crime-fighting drones, and emergency service UAS flying routinely by 2028.

The document seeks to ensure the proper regulations and infrastructure are in place to open the country’s skies to quiet, sustainable aircraft, providing guidance for the next five years.

“Aviation stands on the cusp of its next, potentially biggest, revolution since the invention of the jet engine,” said Sophie O’Sullivan, head of future safety and innovation for the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). “Drones, eVTOL, and other different vehicles have the potential to change transportation options forever.”

Drones are already being deployed by U.K. groups such as the West Midlands Police and Medical Logistics U.K. In just a few short years, they’ve demonstrated the ability to identify suspicious subjects and reduce travel time between hospitals by up to 70 percent. Meanwhile, air taxi models under development are expected to begin flying passengers in the coming years.

A study conducted by the DfT estimates that drone technology alone could boost the U.K. economy by 45 billion pounds—or about $57 billion—by the end of the decade.

“Drones help professional teams capture data from the sky in a safer, cheaper, smarter, and greener way, and, in the future, they will help transport cargo and people,” said Anne-Lise Scaillierez, CEO of the Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems UK (ARPAS-UK), a drone trade association.

The DfT plan predicts the first piloted flying taxi will take to the skies in 2026, with regular service following by 2028 and the first autonomous eVTOL demos by 2030. Regular drone deliveries are anticipated by 2027.

Anthony Browne—the U.K.’s aviation and technology minister, who on Monday is due to visit Bristol-based eVTOL air taxi manufacturer Vertical Aerospace—said the plan will make the country a leader of an approaching “dramatic shift in transportation.”

“Cutting-edge battery technology will revolutionize transport as we know it—this plan will make sure we have the infrastructure and regulation in place to make it a reality,” said Browne.

The CAA, which has already begun the authorization process for Vertical’s VX4 air taxi, will provide regulatory support for the Future of Flight plan and ensure new aircraft comply with the safety standards for traditional models. The agency figures to be a crucial stakeholder in the industry’s near-term development.

“The UK has a long heritage in aerospace, and the publication of this plan sets out how we will lead the next revolution of flight,” said  Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Vertical. “With government and business working together, we can unleash the huge economic, environmental, and social benefits of zero emissions flight globally.”

Among other things, the action plan calls for rules that would permit beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights, allowing the sector to grow without interfering with other aircraft. It also encourages engagement with communities and local authorities and the creation of standards to improve drone security. Drone operators would have access to new digital platforms, which could minimize the red tape associated with getting them in the air quickly.

The plan further sets out how smaller aerodromes could serve as vertiports for eVTOL aircraft, including the development vertiport certification standards. Crucially, it calls for stakeholders to study how existing infrastructure could be used to establish vertiports quickly but safely.

In the coming months, the DfT and its partners will conduct a series of trials to explore BVLOS drone flights and demonstrate electric aircraft, with the aim of minimizing accidents. The trials may include finding and repairing faults on railways, assisting emergency services, or using air taxis to create new connections across the U.K.

The action plan was released before the fifth meeting of the Future of Flight Industry Group: a joint force created in February 2023 to help government and industry leaders address key challenges. Members include air taxi manufacturers Vertical and Joby Aviation, operator Bristow Group, vertiport developer Skyports, and the U.K. National Air Traffic Service (NATS).

“The U.K. is home to one of the world’s most important aerospace industries and is in an ideal position to be a pioneer in the next era of aviation,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports and chairman of the Future of Flight Industry Group. “The government and industry have a joint commitment to support the development, industrialization and introduction of new aviation technologies. Continued collaboration will ensure that we capitalize on the significant domestic and international market opportunities presented.”

Parallels can be drawn between the Future of Flight plan and the FAA’s Innovate28: a blueprint also targeting widespread drone and air taxi operations by 2028.

Like the U.K. plan, Innovate28 proposes a “crawl-walk-run” approach to air taxi operations in the U.S., focusing on a near-term rollout in stages over the next five years. It also proposes heavy reliance on existing infrastructure to decrease complexity.

As in the U.K., U.S. air taxi services are likely to be niche early on, with flights limited mostly to narrow corridors. Drones, which are already used widely, are expected to expand with the implementation of rules for BVLOS flights, among other provisions.

Ultimately, Innovate28’s goal is for eVTOL air taxis to fly at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, by which time operations are expected to have scaled in major cities.

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A Florida-based manufacturer has unveiled a “flying car” design it says is “so intuitive that a 4-year-old could fly it.”

Doroni Aerospace on Friday revealed the sleek-looking H1-X: a two-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) model designed for personal transportation. The company anticipates the first H1-X test flight by the end of 2024.

Doroni could certify the tandem wing design as a light sport aircraft (LSA) under the FAA’s MOSAIC proposal, which would raise the weight limit on such aircraft from 1,320 pounds to about 3,000 pounds. Doing so would lower the model’s barrier to certification and make it more accessible to pilots.

Personal eVTOL aircraft such as the H1-X are expected to hit the U.S. market before electric air taxis, which a handful of manufacturers intend to launch commercially in 2025. The smaller models may give Americans their first glimpse of eVTOL technology.

“The H1-X is not just a vehicle; it’s a leap towards a future where freedom of movement and sustainability coexist,” said Doron Merdinger, CEO of Doroni. “Our dedication to innovation, safety, and the environment is embodied in every aspect of the H1-X, marking a new chapter in transportation.”

Doroni called the H1-X’s unusual tandem wing configuration—which it claims will enhance lift and efficiency—a “leap in aerodynamic sophistication.” It includes integrated wing landing gear, with wing fences to manage airflow.

Another defining feature is the propulsion system. The aircraft receives its lift from four in-wing electric ducted fans, a technology also featured on the Lilium Jet. The fans are designed to reduce noise and improve flight efficiency while keeping the blades enclosed, making the H1-X suitable for urban environments.

Eight vertical electric motors—two each on the aircraft’s four wings—power the fans, enabling quiet and efficient vertical takeoff and landing without a runway. The company said the eVTOL could even land on driveways or roofs.

As two rear-mounted pusher propellers move the aircraft forward, its wings generate lift, conserving power and reducing the amount of lift thrust required from the fans. Doroni said it has patented the combination of tandem wings and electric ducted fans. It added that the design was inspired by jet fighters of the 1950s and 1960s, which blended different wing cambers and sweeps.

The aircraft can fly for about 40 minutes on a single charge, with the ability to charge fully in as little as 20 minutes. Battery packs will be swappable and compatible with standard electric ground vehicle chargers, similar to most eVTOL air taxi concepts.

Combined, the technologies aboard the H1-X give the aircraft a range of 60 sm (52 nm), top speed of 120 mph (104 knots), and payload capacity of 500 pounds, making it ideal for urban or semiurban commutes, Doroni said.

The aircraft was “designed to make flying as accessible as driving,” according to the company. The pilot controls the eVTOL using a single joystick, powering it on and initiating takeoff or landing with a single push of a button. Intuitive precision flight controls do the rest. To store it, owners require only the space of a two-car garage.

The aircraft comes with semiautonomous navigation as well as a self-stabilizing flight system, which is designed to keep the aircraft in equilibrium. Safety features include a built-in ballistic parachute and advanced anti-collision sensors that continuously monitor for obstacles.

The H1-X’s total takeoff weight of 1,850 pounds would qualify it as LSA under the FAA’s MOSAIC proposal, which would expand the definition of LSA to accommodate new aircraft types. Doroni last year said it would consider LSA certification for the H1, its “go-to-market aircraft” unveiled in 2021. It did not mention such plans for the H1-X, but it’s possible the manufacturer has similar intentions.

Doroni said its new model has the potential to transform not just personal travel but also logistics and support services. The company envisions a wide range of applications, including cargo delivery, emergency services, and military operations.

Doroni launched preorders for the go-to-market H1 in 2022. It announced it would accept 36 preorder reservations in the first year of production, “scaling slowly in order to ensure the highest level of quality and safety possible.” Customers will require a valid driver’s license and the completion of a 20-hour training course to fly the H1. The company anticipates the aircraft’s launch later this year.

The predecessor to the H1-X in July completed what Doroni said was the first test flight of a personal two-seat eVTOL in the U.S. It received FAA airworthiness certification in December, at which time the company said it had more than 370 preorders in its backlog.

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Sikorsky, the longtime manufacturer of rotorcraft such as the UH-60 Blackhawk and S-92 helicopter, is exploring a new family of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

The Lockheed Martin-owned firm on Tuesday unveiled its plan to build, test, and fly a fully autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL demonstrator called HEX, which it said will be the first in a series of large, self-flying VTOL models.

Sikorsky said the HEX program is its first attempt to integrate hybrid-electric propulsion systems and advanced autonomy onto a VTOL design. The aircraft is intended to save fuel and improve performance for both commercial and military applications.

The manufacturer first hinted at a VTOL design in December 2022, announcing plans to design the HEX prototype in March. But Tuesday’s announcement revealed the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing architecture.

Tiltrotor or tilt-propeller designs are common in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi space. They involve the repositioning of those components during the transition between vertical and forward flight. Tilt-wings, by contrast, rotate the entire wing vertically during takeoff to minimize their interference on thrust.

Sikorsky also confirmed that HEX represents the inception of a family of next-generation VTOL aircraft, which was only mentioned as a possibility in March. The designs will include both rotorcraft and winged models, the company said.

The aircraft will feature different degrees of electrification, but each will be powered by the company’s Matrix autonomy system for “optionally piloted flight.” Matrix enables an aircraft to be flown by two, one, or zero pilots.

“Autonomy and electrification will bring transformational change to flight safety and operational efficiency of large VTOL aircraft,” said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky. “Our HEX demonstrator program will provide valuable insights as we look to a future family of aircraft built to the scale and preferred configurations relevant to commercial and military customers.”

Sikorsky is exploring the potential for such aircraft to perform utility missions for the U.S. military or fly passengers between cities. Other manufacturers exploring eVTOL designs for air taxi services, recreational flight, or potential military use include Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, and Pivotal.

According to Sikorsky’s website, HEX will be safer to fly and more efficient, cost effective, and sustainable to operate than conventional rotorcraft or fixed-wing designs. It said the aircraft will be capable of traveling 500 nm at high speed, lowering maintenance costs and limiting mechanical systems to reduce complexity.

Sikorsky Innovations—the company’s prototyping arm leading the HEX program—is working with partner GE Aerospace, the aircraft engine supplier subsidiary of General Electric, to finalize the design for a hybrid-electric power systems testbed aircraft, with a 600-kilowatt motor.

The testbed is the “first step,” according to the manufacturer and will be used to evaluate hover performance of the subsequent HEX demonstrator. The demonstrator will have a maximum gross weight of 9,900 pounds and a 1.2-megawatt-class turbogenerator, instead of the 1-megawatt generator proposed in March. Sikorsky in March also said that GE Aerospace would provide a CT7 turboshaft engine, though Tuesday’s announcement made no mention of it.

Over the next two to five years, the testbed and HEX demonstrator are expected to provide Sikorsky with insights into its future class of VTOL aircraft for regional and intercity travel.

“Within Sikorsky’s electric pillar, we are designing electric motors, power electronics and our own vehicle management hardware and actuation,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations. “HEX will integrate these components, showcasing the growing maturity of our Matrix autonomy suite and the potential for maintenance-free systems. Seeing the results will lead us to more efficient overall designs.”

Sikorsky Innovations has developed three experimental helicopter prototypes featuring a coaxial design, with a rear propulsor in place of a tail rotor: the X2 demonstrator, S-97 Raider, and SB-1 Defiant. These models fly twice as fast as a single main rotor helicopter, with improved maneuverability and handling at low speeds, the manufacturer said.

Sikorsky has also worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to demonstrate military resupply and casualty evacuation. The missions were completed using an optionally piloted UH-60A Black Hawk retrofitted with Matrix and a full-authority, fly-by-wire flight control system.

VTOL technology is a decidedly new addition to the mix, by Sikorsky’s own admission. But the manufacturer’s long history of producing rotorcraft may help it merge VTOL with its existing airframes and autonomous capabilities.

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Leonardo, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of rotorcraft, believes artificial intelligence (AI) could be a game-changer for civil aviation.

The Italian firm and Daedalean, a Swiss developer of AI systems for situational awareness and flight control, on Monday announced they completed a flight test campaign that evaluated AI capabilities for advanced navigation of rotorcraft.

Daedalean’s AI-enabled visual awareness system was installed on Leonardo’s SW4 and SW4 Solo RUAS/OPH (Rotorcraft Unmanned Air System/Optionally Piloted Helicopter) models, which flew out of the manufacturer’s PZL-Świdnik facility in Lublin, Poland. PZL-Świdnik is the largest helicopter production plant in the country.

Daedalean claims its PilotEye visual traffic detection system will be the first AI-based cockpit application to be certified for civil aviation. The company is looking to serve general aviation, commercial air transport, urban air mobility (UAM), and uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs).

The Swiss company will certify its neural network-based system with both the FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The FAA has released an Issue Paper for the technology, while EASA has issued a Certification Review Item, to get the ball rolling.

“Leonardo is working towards prudently integrating AI in its products and services through both in-house developments and cooperations,” said Mattia Cavanna, head of technology and innovation at Leonardo Helicopters. “By collaborating with emerging companies on predefined use cases, we keep maturing our technology road maps towards a safer, affordable, and sustainable flight experience. Improving situational awareness…could contribute to further prevent aviation accidents and progressively enable higher degrees of autonomy to our platform.”

Daedalean and Leonardo collaborated on the yearlong project under a grant from Eureka Eurostars, the largest international funding program for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to partner on R&D projects.

The partners equipped Leonardo helicopters with Daedalean’s aircraft-mounted cameras, computer, and interface display. Testing ran from July to September 2023. According to its analysis, Leonardo said the campaign delivered “outstanding results.”

“Daedalean is proud to bring our experience creating machine-learned algorithms for aviation to such a prominent player in the world of aviation,” said Luuk van Dijk, CEO of Daedalean. “It shows there is growing interest in and understanding of the benefits machine learning can bring today to increase flight safety.”

Daedalean provides what it calls “situational intelligence,” or the ability for an aircraft to understand its environment and anticipate and react to potential threats. Its visual awareness system uses machine learning to quickly and effectively perform tasks the company said previously could only be done by humans.

The company’s PilotEye solution can identify aerial traffic—including ADS-B-equipped aircraft as well as “non-cooperative traffic” such as birds or drones—determine an aircraft’s location in GPS-denied environments, and even offer landing guidance.

PilotEye represents a joint project between Daedalean and Avidyne Corp., a provider of integrated avionics systems, flight displays, and safety systems for GA and business aircraft. The system integrates with Avidyne’s Skytrax Traffic Advisory System into the IFD5XX flight display series.

Daedalean is also collaborating with Xwing, a fellow developer of automated flight systems, to harmonize their approaches to certification and speed the approval of both companies’ technology. Further, it has conducted joint research with the FAA, EASA, and other regulators to demonstrate that its system can be certified under stringent safety standards.

“Daedalean published multiple studies with regulators to evidence the fact that our machine-learned algorithms are capable of providing functions meeting and exceeding human capabilities,” van Dijk said. “As aviators and passengers become more familiar with AI-enabled systems, a future with autonomous flight becomes more attractive for the higher safety, lower cost, and increased capacity it will deliver.”

Leonardo, meanwhile, said it is “well positioned” to possibly retrofit its line of aircraft with Daedalean tech and is eyeing integration on future models.

The manufacturer has a network of research and development laboratories called Leonardo Labs, which serve as technology hubs connecting university talent with company experts. The sites are intended to drive innovation, uncover practical applications, and research areas such as materials and quantum technologies, sustainability, and applied artificial intelligence.

Other Leonardo projects under development include fuel-reducing technology, a tiltrotor airframe design, and a search and rescue helicopter.

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The post Leonardo Tests AI-Enabled Visual Awareness System for Rotorcraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Pivotal, the manufacturer of a single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed primarily for recreational use, has attracted the attention of the U.S. military.

The company this week said it was selected by Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI) and AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to participate in Agility Prime, a division of AFWERX dedicated to vertical lift technologies.

Under the new agreement, Pivotal delivered the first four of eight BlackFly preproduction eVTOLs and two flight simulators for lease to MTSI, which will be used in AFWERX and Air Force evaluations. MTSI supports AFWERX with flight testing and program management.

“AFWERX’s and MTSI’s decision to partner with Pivotal is a strong endorsement of our platform’s maturity and a milestone on our journey to mission relevance,” said Ken Karklin, CEO of Pivotal.

In addition to aircraft and simulators, Pivotal will provide pilot training and support services to its partners. The Air Force will leverage the partnership to perform a range of remotely piloted missions. It also plans to assess the benefits of the company’s unique “tilt-eVTOL” architecture for a variety of use cases.

Unlike many eVTOL designs that feature tilting motors or propellers, Pivotal decided to slant the entire airframe during the transition from hover to vertical or forward flight. This reduces aircraft weight, complexity, and points of failure, the company said.

“AFWERX continues to look for ways to accelerate our understanding of eVTOL operations, maintenance, logistics, and potential use cases.” said Lieutenant Colonel John Tekell, branch chief of Agility Prime. “One-two person eVTOLs have potential for several missions including special operations, surveillance, and disaster and emergency response with local command and control at a much lower price point than traditional helicopters.”

Pivotal, MTSI, and AFWERX will conduct the program out of New Braunfels National Airport (KBAZ), just 30 miles north of San Antonio in Texas, and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (KSGH) in Ohio. The goal will be to see if the outlandish design is a good fit for Air Force missions.

“Over the next eight months, we will fly eight BlackFly eVTOL aircraft in different environments to test their mission effectiveness and suitability in military uses,” said Vance Drenkhahn, executive vice president of MTSI’s defense services division.

BlackFly’s ability to fit inside a 16-foot trailer and go from storage to the sky in less than 30 minutes may be piquing the Air Force’s interest since these features make the aircraft easy to transport and deploy.

They are also present on Helix, Pivotal’s flagship model unveiled in October. Helix makes several upgrades to BlackFly, including a redesigned canopy and flight deck, more comfortable seating, and improved power, propulsion, and performance.

Helix hit the U.S. market in January, and customers can now purchase the aircraft for $190,000. For comparison, Helix costs slightly more than a Texas Aircraft Colt but less than a Beechcraft G36 Bonanza, Diamond DA40 NG, or Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Pivotal expects initial shipments to begin in June.

In addition to the strange tilt-aircraft design, Helix is notable for its low barrier to entry. With an empty weight below 350 pounds, the eVTOL qualifies as a Part 103 ultralight, meaning the FAA does not require pilot certification to fly it.

Instead, Pivotal will train customers how to fly the aircraft—which is commanded using fly-by-wire controls and a pair of simple joysticks—at its Palo Alto, California headquarters. In lieu of hundreds of hours of flight training, the company claims customers will be ready to fly in just two weeks, with recurrent training required after they receive their wings.

For those fearing an influx of inexperienced pilots, it may be reassuring that Helix comes with some restrictions. Customers will be required to fly during daytime and in Class G airspace, far from congested airspace and airports. They will also be restricted to about a 20 sm (17 nm) range and 63 mph (55 knot) cruise speed. In addition, pilots must be at least 18 years old, weigh less than 220 pounds, and stand no taller than 6-foot-5.

Customers can place a nonrefundable $250 deposit fee on Pivotal’s website to begin their order. To solidify a production slot and shipping date, they will need to deposit another $50,000 within five business days of the initial order.

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The post Pivotal Delivers First Four BlackFly Personal Aircraft for Air Force Evaluation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Aviation has its fair share of problems. The current pilot shortage of about 17,000 is only expected to grow by the end of the decade, and industry sustainability commitments may not achieve the target of net-zero aviation emissions by 2030, to name a few. But these issues, dire as they may be, present opportunities for innovation.

Venture capital firm UP.Partners last week published the 2024 edition of its annual Moving World Report, a deep dive into the movers and shakers in aviation and transportation more broadly. Though the industry’s challenges are steep, the company believes the introduction of new aircraft types—such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), hydrogen-powered, and blended wing body designs—offers hope that they can be solved.

“Our goal with this report is to equip industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of these changes, enabling them to effectively navigate and shape the future of mobility,” said Cyrus Sigari, co-founder and managing partner of UP.Partners.

UP.Partners, which holds stakes in a range of mobility-focused startups, estimated that the pilot shortage will grow to 65,000 by 2030. At the same time, transportation is the biggest culprit of U.S. carbon emissions, with aviation contributing an estimated 8 percent within the segment. Based on announced pledges, UP.Partners claims aviation emissions are expected to rise 79 percent between 2020 and 2030—theoretically, that figure would need to be capped at 22 percent to remain in line with global net-zero by 2050 targets.

These issues will need to be addressed quickly. And an influx of new intercity and long-distance air mobility options may be the catalyst.

The Innovation Problem

According to UP.Partners, there’s an “innovation problem” in commercial aviation.

As Stripe CEO Patrick Collison pointed out, the inception of the Boeing 737 design is now closer in time to the Wright Flyer than it is to the present day. At the same time, efficiency gains in carbon-emissions reduction have leveled off over the past 70 years.

According to the report, those gains are due almost entirely to engine development rather than airframe innovation. However, commercial airlines are exploring blended wing body designs—which UP.Partners called the first major airframe innovation during that span—and other sustainable configurations. The U.S. Air Force in August awarded startup JetZero a $250 million contract to develop a blended wing body demonstrator, and Airbus previously announced a similar concept.

Emissions reductions may improve further with the introduction of electric and hydrogen aircraft. The report predicts electric models will hit the market in 2025, followed by hydrogen fuel cell designs in 2030 and hydrogen combustion aircraft in 2040. 

However, that comes with the caveat that electrifying or switching to hydrogen “likely has a limited impact, at a huge cost.”

UP.Partners estimated that electrifying all flights less than two hours could reduce emissions by 28 percent, a respectable figure. But electrifying or using hydrogen for longer flights—which account for the remaining 72 percent of emissions—is not technically or financially feasible with current technology.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to bridge the gap, contributing to 65 percent of emissions reductions by 2050 according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) projections. However, the report estimates that SAF is still 43 percent more expensive than conventional jet fuel. Bringing those costs in line could take more than a decade, it predicted.

UP.Partners also raised concerns that certain SAF commitments may be examples of “greenwashing.” RyanAir, for example, has pledged to obtain about 10 percent of its fuel from SAF by 2030. But the airline does not know exactly where it will come from.

“There isn’t enough cooking oil in the world to power one day of green aviation,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in December.

Electric Aircraft Have Arrived

Producing SAF and other sustainable fuels presents a massive challenge for aviation. But there are plenty of aircraft in development that will use them when the time comes.

In fact, many are already flying. The term drone may conjure up images of buzzing, microwave-sized aircraft. However, many designs resemble small cargo planes, with similar ranges and payloads. 

In 2023, electric drones completed 1 million deliveries. Commercial drone flights, meanwhile, have increased by 135 percent per year since 2018. Today, the aircraft mainly deliver air freight, parcels, and medical cargo. But the report predicts the pilot shortage will only accelerate the technology further, opening up even more use cases.

Adding to the momentum for drone delivery is its declining cost. According to UP.Partners research, the price is about $4 per delivery when a remote pilot is able to monitor multiple drones. That’s nearly one-third the price of a comparable automobile delivery, the firm said.

Per the report, Walmart is the world’s leading developer of drone delivery services outside of the war in Ukraine. In the past two years alone, the retailer completed more than 2,000 U.S. deliveries out of 36 hubs across seven states. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 1.8 million households are now eligible for drone delivery through Walmart and its partners.

Amazon Prime Air, meanwhile, has faltered. It has now been more than a decade since former CEO Jeff Bezos promised to permeate U.S. skies with drones, but the e-commerce giant has made only a handful of deliveries.

Compared to Walmart, Amazon has a few strategic disadvantages, UP.Partners said. For example, as Walmart partners with leading drone manufacturers and providers such as Zipline, Wing, Flytrex, and DroneUp, Amazon has taken a vertically integrated approach.

And while Walmart has more than 4,600 stores located within 90 percent of the U.S. population, Amazon has around 100 active fulfillment centers. However, Prime Air recently announced an international expansion and a ramp-up of its service in Texas.

As drones take to the skies, eVTOL aircraft may be the next to emerge. According to the report, there is an 18,000-unit global backlog for eVTOL aircraft valued at $111 billion. United Airlines leads the way, with large commitments for air taxis from Archer Aviation and Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility.

EHang, a Chinese manufacturer, completed the world’s first commercial passenger-carrying eVTOL air taxi flight in December, more than a year before the first American firm expects to enter service. But the industry is crowded. Several manufacturers are neck-and-neck on SMG Consulting’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Reality Index, a monthly report that measures a company’s ability to type certify and mass produce AAM aircraft. The top dogs include EHang, Archer, Eve, Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Boeing’s Wisk Aero.

Meanwhile, personal, single-seat eVTOL designs, such as the Pivotal Helix, and “flying cars” capable of driving on the freeway and taking off from the runway, such as the Jetson One, have already entered service.

Automated flight systems, such as those from Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and Merlin Labs, are also approaching certification. And soon, the industry may even introduce humanoid co-pilots.

The arrow is certainly pointing up for drones, eVTOL, and other emerging designs as they attract investments from private firms. But according to the report, the U.S. Department of Defense is the single largest customer of mobility technology. 

Through innovation arm AFWERX, the Air Force is working with a plethora of manufacturers to develop the next generation of aviation technology. Contracted firms include Archer, Beta, Pipistrel, Xwing, and Reliable.

During periods of conflict—a fair characterization of today’s state of play—U.S. military spending and venture capital investment in defense go up, according to data from PitchBook and the Office of Management and Budget. So, it’s possible that wars in Europe and the Middle East will accelerate these projects even further.

Battle for the Final Frontier

Private industry, government, and other stakeholders are coming together to address the issues facing the planet’s skies. But some are looking higher.

2023 was a banner year for commercial space activity. About 13,000 satellites are now in orbit, a number UP.Partners expects to rise to 50,000 in 2030. Satellite constellations, led by SpaceX’s Starlink, have increased tenfold over the past four years. And dollars spent on global space activity have tripled over the past decade, buoyed by growth in commercial ventures.

Orbital launch attempts, meanwhile, have spiked following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the U.S. and China leading the way. At the same time, the cost to send a satellite to low-Earth orbit (LEO) has declined significantly.

For example, SpaceX claims Starhip—the largest and most powerful rocket ever built—will deliver payloads for about $45 per pound. The spacecraft has attempted two suborbital test flights, both of which resulted in the loss of its rocket and booster and spurred FAA mishap investigations.

Still, SpaceX far surpasses all other launch providers in terms of payload, the report said. If successful, its Starship human landing system (HLS)—which NASA will use to return humans to the moon through the Artemis program—would drastically reduce the cost of lunar payload delivery compared to the Apollo program, from $36 billion to $70 million per ton.

However, UP.Partners worries that the U.S. may fail to lead in the final frontier. Venture capital investment in space startups has risen almost 3,500 percent over the past decade. But most space special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have fared poorly. For almost all of them, stock price as a percentage of valuation has declined more than 50 percent.

The report also raised concerns around the Artemis program. NASA in December delayed the Artemis III moon mission from 2025 to 2026, in part due to the issues facing Starship. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk estimated each lunar landing will require eight Starship launches to perform cryogenic refilling in orbit. But the Government Accountability Office predicts it will be double.

Any delay to Artemis or other U.S. space initiatives could open the door for China. The Eastern superpower is quickly accelerating its commercial space program, with companies such as Space Pioneer and Deep Blue already landing reusable rockets. Blue Origin and Stoke Space are among the U.S. firms developing similar spacecraft.

A Moving World

The issues facing aviation are not insignificant, nor are they easy—or cheap—to solve. The industry will soon need to complement or supplement thousands of pilots, eliminate significant  quantities of carbon, and maintain aircraft performance and efficiency while doing it.

The good news is that pressure makes diamonds. While it may not be enough just yet, hundreds of startups are pouring billions of dollars into new airframes, fuels, and other technologies.

However, regulation will need to catch up with innovation. The FAA has finalized some early drone regulations, for example, but still needs to address flight beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight (BVLOS). AAM regulations, meanwhile, are still in a primitive state—only initial guidelines have been released.

For the U.S.—or any nation—to lead aviation into a greener, more efficient future, regulators will have just as large a role to play as the manufacturers themselves.

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The post Moving World Report 2024: Breaking Down Challenges, Opportunities in Aviation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Federal agencies are beginning to warm up to the idea of fully or partially automated flight.

Boston-based Merlin Labs—the maker of a platform-agnostic, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system for fixed-wing aircraft—on Wednesday announced it obtained Part 135 certification from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of New Zealand for future air freight operations in the country. The regulator’s Part 135 covers air operations for helicopters and small airplanes.

Certification of the Merlin’s flagship Merlin Pilot system follows U.S. military airworthiness approvals for fellow automated flight systems providers Xwing and Reliable Robotics, handed out by the U.S. Air Force.

“Achieving an organizational Part 135 certification gives us the opportunity to work with a forward-thinking regulator as well as leverage New Zealand as a sandbox for our current and future products,” said Matt George, founder and CEO of Merlin. “This milestone enables us to continue progressing our technical maturity, ultimately validating the safety and operational effectiveness of the Merlin Pilot for [CAA] Part 23 certification and beyond.”

Merlin’s Part 135 certificate will allow it to perform critical data collection flights on certain regional freight routes following CAA product certification of Merlin Pilot. The company achieved a state of involvement (SOI) 1 milestone for the system in May, putting it on “a viable path to certification and commercial operation,” it said.

According to Merlin, data collected on those freight routes will be essential for “future development decisions that will be implemented globally.” The findings will also support Merlin Pilot certification with both the CAA and FAA, it said.

The company’s Part 135 certification will further allow it to leverage its dedicated test facility in Kerikeri, New Zealand, opened in May, for current and future products once they’re certified.

Merlin said it has made notable progress on its organizational and product certification since its Project Specific Certification Plan (PSCP) was approved by the CAA—in partnership with the FAA—in 2021. At the time, it claimed to be the first company to reach an agreement with a regulator on an approach to certification for autonomous aircraft tech.

Since then, Merlin was contracted by the FAA to perform what it said was the first air cargo network trials flown by a non-human pilot, which it completed successfully in Alaska in July.

The company also has a relationship with the U.S. Air Force. Last week, the two agreed to conduct in-flight demonstrations of Merlin Pilot aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker, which is used by the military for aerial refueling. Those trials will begin next year. The exercise is a follow-up to a 2022 Air Force contract to test the system on a single-pilot Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, which is normally commanded by two pilots.

Through innovation arm AFWERX, the Air Force is also collaborating with autonomous flight systems providers Xwing and Reliable Robotics. Both firms were approved to fly in unrestricted airspace in the past 30 days as the military and FAA begin to ramp up their pursuit of autonomy.

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Autonomous flight technology will be deployed by the U.S. military before making its way to the commercial sector.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, has awarded autonomy technology provider Xwing military airworthiness for its self-flying Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in the form of a Military Flight Release (MFR), allowing it to perform cargo missions for the Air Force in unrestricted airspace.

The approval designates Xwing as a contractor-owned-and-operated public aircraft operation (PAO) and is the first under that designation for Autonomy Prime, the autonomous flight division of AFWERX.

After receiving airworthiness, Xwing’s autonomous Caravan transported time-sensitive cargo during the Air Force’s weeklong Agile Flag 24-1 Joint Force exercise. Over the course of daily flights—which covered about 2,800 nm, 22 hours of flight time, and eight public and military airports—it demonstrated the ability to integrate autonomous aircraft into the national airspace system. Agile Flag ran from January 22 to February 4.

“Achieving an Air Force MFR certification is a momentous milestone, removing the barrier to transition and unlocking key testing and experimentation opportunities,” said Kate Brown, deputy branch chief of AFWERX Autonomy Prime. “Agile Flag was an opportunity to showcase autonomous light cargo logistics and demonstrate operational relevance and increased technical readiness.”

The exercise included the first autonomous logistics mission for the Air Force, flying from March Air Reserve Base (KRIV) outside Los Angeles to McClellan Airfield at Sacramento McClellan Airport (KMCC) in California. The autonomous aircraft also visited California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base (KVBG), Meadows Field Airport (KBFL), and Fresno Yosemite International Airport (KFAT).

“Our technology has proven effective over hundreds of successful autonomous flights,” said Craig Milliard, Xwing flight test manager, who remotely supervised the flights from a ground control station at Sacramento McClellan Airport. “This exercise gave us the opportunity to stretch the operational envelope into new environments, day and night, with real-world cargo, proving that we can effectively complete Air Force mission objectives.”

The Exercise

Xwing operates N101XW: a modified Grand Caravan with a 41-foot length, 15-foot height, 52-foot wingspan, and maximum payload of 3,000 pounds. Since its first autonomous flight in 2020, N101XW has flown more than 500 autonomous hours across 250 missions. According to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), data collected from those tests show the aircraft can fly about 1,000 nm with 1,200 pounds of cargo.

Following “rigorous safety and technical assessments,” the Air Force awarded Xwing the MFR. With it, the company is authorized to deliver official Air Force cargo with automated taxis, takeoffs, and landings, to both military and civilian airfields.

The goal of Agile Flag was to show how autonomous flight could deliver critical, time-sensitive cargo quickly and cost effectively. The Air Force gauged how autonomy could serve as a “force multiplier and risk mitigator” for the military’s agile combat employment (ACE) concept. ACE involves the dispersal of aircraft and equipment between major military hubs and smaller airfields to improve resilience and survivability.

The exercise brought together Xwing, fellow autonomous flight provider Reliable Robotics, and the Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC) to evaluate the technology for ACE applications. According to the Air Force, a core component of the strategy is the ability to deliver to multiple unsurveyed locations—or contested, degraded, or operationally limited (CDO) environments—with little or no ground support, on a moment’s notice.

Xwing and its ground control station arrived at McClellan Airfield, the headquarters for Agile Flag, on January 26, where airmen watched autonomous takeoffs and landings of its modified Cessna through a live feed.

But when airmen in the 4th Fighter Wing from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, needed to transport equipment from March ARB to McClellan, the demonstration became an operational exercise. Personnel loaded the equipment onto Xwing’s autonomous Caravan and completed the flight that day.

“The point of AFWERX is to get emerging and operationally relevant technologies into the hands of warfighters,” said Ian Clowes, stakeholder engagement lead for AFWERX Prime. “So I coordinated with the 4th Fighter Wing for nearly a year, and the initial pitch was for us to show up and make sure we were not interfering with the exercise. But plans changed, and we got to demonstrate the capability in an operational environment.”

Throughout the week, the Air Force assigned Xwing cargo missions based on real-time logistics needs, such as the delivery of sensitive weather equipment and other critical cargo. The exercise required it to fly through the congested Los Angeles basin, where the Caravan complied with air traffic controller instructions and integrated with heavy traffic at March ARB.

AFWERX said the aircraft delivered critical parts faster than conventional counterparts and reduced the number of requests for traditional, heavy-lift aircraft. These, according to Xwing, are two key advantages autonomous flight brings to the table for military commanders.

“This technology is a game-changer because the Air Force could fly in contested areas without the loss of life, and it’s much less expensive than using traditional cargo aircraft,” said Master Sergeant Brian Crea, Air Force 3rd Wing director of innovation.

“We saw firsthand during Agile Flag that the use of Xwing’s autonomous aircraft eliminated the need to fly a larger aircraft such as a [Lockheed Martin] C-130 to deliver critical cargo to the warfighter on short notice,” said Maxime Gariel, president, co-founder, and chief technology officer of Xwing. “When you fly missions autonomously, you operate with the speed and efficiency required for dispersed ACE operations, delivering cargo and personnel at a much lower cost and risk.”

Autonomy on the Rise?

Xwing’s participation in Agile Flag is part of its recently awarded Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with AFWERX, a continuation of the Phase II contract it obtained in May.

Autonomy Prime, with which Xwing worked over the course of the exercise, is a new technology program within AFWERX that partners with the private sector to accelerate testing and deliver new solutions to the military.

During Agile Flag, Autonomy Prime also collaborated with Reliable Robotics—which, like Xwing, retrofits Cessna Caravans with automated flight systems—through the company’s own Phase III SBIR agreement. Its dual-use control station landed at McClellan on January 30. Within minutes, AFWERX said, the system was ready to remotely operate self-flying aircraft at Hollister Municipal Airport (KCVH) more than 120 miles away.

With Agile Flag now wrapped up, Autonomy Prime will collect data to gauge the effectiveness of autonomous logistics aircraft in an ACE construct. Those results will then be analyzed and briefed to Air Force leadership.

“This demonstration was the first step in showcasing how autonomy and light cargo logistics can be leveraged in an ACE construct,” said Brown. “Moving forward, Autonomy Prime is continuing to investigate integration into future exercises to further refine concept of operations and use case. In parallel, Autonomy Prime is working with requirements owners and vendors to inform future requirements.”

Autonomous flight systems are steadily progressing toward certification, with a couple of key firsts in recent months.

In addition to Xwing’s milestone autonomous logistics mission for the Air Force, Reliable in December completed a historic cargo flight. The demonstration, conducted with FAA approval, marked the first flight of a remotely piloted Caravan with no one on board.

Xwing is also working closely with the regulator. It claims to own the first “standard” FAA uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) certification project, which aims to meet the full airworthiness safety requirements for passenger aircraft.

Both companies intend to eventually move beyond Cessna Caravans and retrofit other aircraft, but they will begin with small cargo models. Reliable has a partnership with FedEx, while Xwing is collaborating with United Parcel Service.

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A company that retrofits Cessna 208B Caravans with automated systems—and which flew the first such aircraft with no one on board in December—announced the FAA has accepted the requirements for its advanced aircraft navigation and autopilot systems, which help automate all phases of flight from taxi to takeoff and landing.

Reliable Robotics, which completed the landmark flight using its remotely operated aircraft system (ROAS), claims to be the first in the industry to agree on a testing and analysis campaign for these systems with the FAA. The company will demonstrate how its ROAS aligns with the regulator’s safety and performance requirements for operations in the contiguous U.S. and Alaska.

“We are immensely pleased with the FAA and the positive working relationship we’ve established together—it is clear that we share the common goal of improving aircraft safety through automation,” said Chris Schulenberg, certification program manager at Reliable.

Reliable’s ROAS is intended to reduce or eliminate accidents due to pilot error or impairment, such as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control in flight (LOC-I), which it says account for the bulk of fatal aviation accidents. Initially, the firm will supplement personnel in the cockpit rather than replace them. It intends for operations to include a single onboard pilot to perform “abnormal procedures.”

The means of compliance for assessing the ROAS’ navigation and autopilot systems have been accepted through the FAA’s issue paper process. The blueprint sets out criteria for approving the technology and comprises a portion of the company’s supplemental type certification (STC) process.

That campaign kicked off in 2022, when the FAA approved Reliable’s G-1 issue paper. The G-1 defines the certification basis for its STC on the Cessna Caravan, including navigation and autopilot systems. The company’s certification plan for continuous autopilot engagement—a road map that uses existing FAA regulations and processes for normal and transport category aircraft, with no special conditions or exemptions—was accepted in June.

The regulator has also conducted several test flights with Reliable through its Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Airspace Management Demonstration program, culminating in its signoff on December’s historic flight. The Caravan used in that demonstration—a loan from potential customer FedEx—is one of many Reliable intends to retrofit with its automated tech. 

The company is working with both Textron Aviation and Textron eAviation—the sustainable flight subsidiary of Textron—to install its ROAS onto the popular model. Textron has delivered more than 3,000 Caravans, making it one of the most widely used turboprops in the world. Reliable’s remotely piloted Caravan could introduce same- or next-day shipments of time-sensitive deliveries to locations currently served by piloted models.

However, the firm’s tech is also designed to be aircraft agnostic. It could one day be equipped on other Textron designs or those of different manufacturers. The company says this could even include cargo aircraft designed for 3,000-plus-pound payloads—small cargo aircraft are a possible candidate for early autonomous operations, with low risk due to the lack of passengers.

In addition to the FAA, Reliable has completed watershed technology demonstrations with NASA and AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force. In January, it was awarded military airworthiness approval to begin further flight testing and perform operational missions for the Air Force using remotely piloted aircraft.

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The post FAA, Reliable Robotics Agree on Testing Criteria for Automated Aircraft System appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Hello, and welcome to the Future of FLYING newsletter, our weekly look at the biggest stories in emerging aviation technology. From low-altitude drones to high-flying rockets at the edge of the atmosphere, we’ll take you on a tour of the modern flying world to help you make sense of it all.

Now for this week’s top story:

NFL Drone Incursions Prompt Super Bowl Flight Restrictions

What happened? A recent incident involving a rogue drone pilot at an NFL game has drawn the attention of the FAA, which announced a temporary flight restriction (TFR) within 2 nm of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the venue for Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

The incident: A Pennsylvania man faces felony federal charges and up to four years in prison for flying an unlicensed drone at the AFC championship game on January 28, pitting the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The pilot also did not possess a remote pilot certificate.

TFRs around stadiums are standard during NFL regular-season and playoff games since 9/11, typically restricting drones that fly at or below 3,000 feet agl within 3 nm of any venue that seats 30,000 or more. But stadiums are often ill-equipped to enforce the rules, and only the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have the authority to jam or bring the drones down.

Super Bowl Security: Given a rise in drone-related incursions, the FAA this week outlined the TFR in place around Allegiant Stadium and the surrounding area. Flights of all kinds will be heavily restricted on game day, with various other limitations in place throughout the week. The agency also released guidelines for GA pilots and other pilots.

Like traditional pilots, drone pilots who enter the TFR without permission could face criminal prosecution or fines in excess of $30,000, or their drone may be confiscated. The worries are not unfounded. During Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams in 2019, a drone nearly caused a midair collision with Air Force F-16s over Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quick quote: “Without a change in federal law, mass gatherings will remain at risk from malicious and unauthorized drone operations. For more than a year, we have been calling for passage of the bipartisan Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act, which would empower state and local law enforcement to safely mitigate drones…It’s time for Congress to act,” the NFL said in a statement to FLYING.

My take: The bill the NFL spokesperson is referring to, introduced in May, would extend FBI and DHS drone takedown authority to officials who can act more quickly, or who may even be on-site. The legislation has been endorsed by the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and NCAA.

And given how common the issue has become, the bill may be necessary. Cathy Lanier, NFL chief of security, estimated there were some 2,500 drone-related incursions over stadiums during the league’s 2022 season—nearly double the 1,300 such incidents the season prior. None of these have resulted in injury. But a few drones have dropped items such as leaflets into crowds of spectators, raising alarm bells about what else they could carry.

Officials are also wary of rogue drones at airports. Occasionally, these have led to mass flight delays or cancellations, including at the two largest airports in the U.K. Increasingly, drones have been reported to smuggle contraband or weapons into prisons or across the U.S. southern border.

Deep dive: Could One Pilot’s Mistake Deter Rogue Drones at the Super Bowl?

In Other News…

Airbus Charts Path for Electric Air Taxi Rollout in Italy

What happened? The manufacturer of popular aircraft such as the A320 family also has its sights set on advanced air mobility (AAM). Airbus this week added two new partners to its collaboration with ITA Airways, the flag carrier of Italy, with an eye toward standing up an AAM ecosystem in the Mediterranean country, including electric aircraft, chargers, and vertiports.

Gli aerotaxi: That’s Italian for “the air taxis,” and Airbus’ electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) CityAirbus NextGen could fly in the country in the next few years. The manufacturer expects to obtain European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-23 certification for the air taxi in 2025, it has said previously.

On February 1, Airbus and ITA added vertiport operator UrbanV and green energy firm Enel—which will assist airfields with the transition to electric infrastructure—to the partnership. Without a vast network of electric aircraft chargers and vertiports, air taxis will have a difficult time scaling. The electric ground vehicle industry has addressed the issue by installing universally accessible systems nationwide.

Deep dive: Airbus Expands Partnership for Italy Air Taxi Rollout

Air Taxi Manufacturer EHang Reveals Low $330K Price Tag for Flagship Model

What happened? Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang—which in October obtained the world’s first type certificate for an air taxi, its flagship EH216-S—plans to sell the aircraft for just $330,000 in China. Though the price tag is only intended for the firm’s home country, EHang intends to expand nationwide as early as this year, and it could undercut competitors.

The air taxi landscape: Outside of Lilium and its $10 million Pioneer Edition Jet, few of EHang’s competitors have publicly stated price tags for their air taxi designs. But using available information and a bit of math, it’s possible to estimate where EHang stands.

United Airlines’ purchase of up to 200 Archer Aviation Midnight aircraft for $1 billion, for example, equates to $5 million per unit. Per a 2021 investor presentation, rival Joby Aviation estimated its S4 will cost about $1.5 million each to produce. And based on previously announced aircraft orders, Beta Technologies’ Alia sells for about $4 million. Other players are also looking in this range, which is in a different stratosphere from EHang’s $330,000 list price.

Deep Dive: EHang Reveals Low $330K Price Tag for Self-Flying Electric Air Taxi

And a Few More Headlines:

• Archer has begun building three type-conforming Midnight aircraft to use in for-credit FAA testing later this year.

• Space tourism business Virgin Galactic is grounded by the FAA after an alignment pin detached during its latest mission.

• Beta and Bristow Group demonstrated the former’s Alia conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft.

• Hybrid-electric airplane manufacturer Heart Aerospace raised $107 million in a series B round.

• Drone racing has been confirmed as an event at The World Games 2025, the lesser-known sibling of the Olympic Games.

On the Horizon…

There’s more drone-related legislation making its way onto Capitol Hill.

The Drone Evaluation to Eliminate Cyber Threats Act of 2024 (DETECT Act), introduced Wednesday by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.C.), calls on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the Department of Commerce to create cybersecurity guidelines for government use of drones.

Among other things, DETECT would set cybersecurity guidelines for all U.S. government agencies, prohibiting them from acquiring drones that don’t fit the standards. It also directs the Office of Management and Budget to enforce the rules whenever they are codified. Warner and Thune previously introduced several bills taking aim at the perceived threat of drones manufactured in China.

The FAA too has its eye on drones. The regulator on Thursday released its final report from the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Detection and Mitigating Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). That’s a mouthful, but essentially, the ARC’s recommendations could align stakeholders in regards to the way they monitor drones and take down rogue aircraft. The ARC comprises representatives from more than 50 groups in the crewed and uncrewed aviation communities, government entities, law enforcement, subject matter experts, and others.

While the final UAS Detecting and Mitigating Systems report was welcomed with open arms by groups such as the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the FAA still awaits reauthorization. This week, members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee called on new FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker to “pick up the slack,” arguing that portions of the House-approved bill could be implemented by the agency without congressional authority.

Mark Your Calendars

Each week, I’ll be running through a list of upcoming industry events. The 11th Annual eVTOL Symposium wrapped up Thursday in Silicon Valley, California, but here are a few conferences to keep an eye on:

• Drone Show Korea 2024—March 6-8 in Busan, South Korea
• World’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Conference—March 17-19 in Jerusalem
• AUVSI Xponential 2024—April 22-25 in San Diego 
• Vertical Flight Society’s Forum 80—May 7-9 in Montreal

Tweet of the Week

Want to see your tweet here next week? Have comments or feedback? Share your thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) and tag me (@jack_daleo)! Or check out FLYING’s media accounts:

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I want to hear your questions, comments, concerns, and criticisms about everything in the modern flying space, whether they’re about a new drone you just bought or the future of space exploration. Reach out to jack@flying.media or tweet me @jack_daleo with your thoughts.

The post The FAA’s Plan to Stop Drones from Spoiling the Super Bowl appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The goal of net-zero carbon emissions in aviation by 2050 has been widely adopted by airlines, countries (including the U.S.), and global collectives such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). But the industry won’t get there without action.

This week, European firms announced two collaborations intended to herald the transition from traditional jet fuel to alternative sources, such as hydrogen.

The first, between industry titan Airbus and four Scandinavian firms, aims to study the feasibility of hydrogen infrastructure at airports in Norway and Sweden. The companies claim the study—which covers two countries and more than 50 airports—is the first of its kind.

“Hydrogen stands out as a key enabler as we pioneer a sustainable aviation future,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus. “Norway and Sweden are among the most demanding regions for aviation and have great potential for hydrogen production from renewable energy sources.”

Faury added that the company intends to deploy hydrogen ecosystems in “most suitable parts of the world.”

Separately, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), a U.K.-based hydrogen aircraft developer, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LoganAir, the U.K.’s largest regional airline, to fly hydrogen-electric aircraft between Scotland’s Orkney Islands by 2027. The partners believe the collaboration could deliver the world’s first commercial zero-emissions flights.

Airbus Forms a Hydrogen Herd

Airbus on Wednesday said it will work with Avinor and Swedavia, the flag carriers of Norway and Sweden, respectively, as well as Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which serves the broader region. The companies will be joined by Vattenfall, a Swedish energy and power firm, which will support the partnership with electrical infrastructure and hydrogen production.

“We want to enable industry decarbonization,” said Anna Borg, president and CEO of Vattenfall. “Aviation is a hard-to-abate industry, where breaking away from fossil fuels is a huge challenge today. This cross-border collaboration however demonstrates the willingness to bring about change.”

According to Airport Carbon Accreditation, airport-controlled activities comprise around 2 to 3 percent of all aviation emissions. To reduce that figure, airports will need to move away from traditional aviation fuel and toward sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other renewable alternatives, such as hydrogen.

“If generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, hydrogen emits no CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions, thereby enabling renewable energy to potentially power large aircraft over long distances but without the undesirable by-product of CO2 emissions,” Airbus claims on its website.

Airbus and its partners will study hydrogen aircraft concepts and operations, infrastructure, and refueling at airports to develop a hydrogen ecosystem in Norway and Sweden. The study will also identify which airports are candidates for early transformations and which regulatory frameworks will need to be in place.

“Hydrogen is expected to gradually become an increasing part of the aviation industry’s fuel mix in the future and will therefore have an increasing effect on the infrastructure and planning of our airports,” said Jonas Abrahamsson, president and CEO of Swedavia. “This partnership is a major and important step towards fossil-free aviation in the Nordic region.”

Airbus sees potential for hydrogen to be combusted into fuel to power modified gas turbines or converted to electric power via fuel cells. It could even be used to create synthetic fuels, or e-fuels, which are generated exclusively using renewable sources.

The manufacturer’s goal is to bring a low-carbon commercial aircraft to market by 2035. In 2020, it launched ZEROe: a program to develop aircraft, systems, and an ecosystem for hydrogen aviation. All four aircraft concepts being developed under ZEROe—a turbofan, turboprop, blended-wing body, and fully electric model—are hydrogen powered and designed for 100 to 200 passengers. 

Last week, Airbus tested ZEROe’s “iron pod” hydrogen power system, a key milestone in the program’s progress. And in December, the EcoPulse demonstrator, a joint project between Airbus, Daher, and Safran, made its first hybrid-electric flight.

To build out an ecosystem, Airbus in 2020 introduced “Hydrogen Hub at Airports,” a program that initiated research into infrastructure requirements for low-carbon airport operations. The initiative brings together key industry players and includes airports, airlines, and other partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, and the U.K.

Electrifying the Islander

As Airbus and Co. collaborate on hydrogen infrastructure, CAeS and LoganAir are eyeing real-world flights.

LoganAir, which aims to be net-zero by 2040, hopes to fly the first operational hydrogen-electric Islander in the Orkney Islands by 2027, following certification in 2026. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airliners in Europe, used primarily for short-range commercial passenger service.

“The short-haul routes we operate in Orkney and the challenging weather conditions we face make the ideal test bed for hydrogen-electric aircraft, and we are incredibly proud that we could be offering the world’s first commercial zero-emissions flights,” said Peter Simpson, executive chairman of Loganair.

LoganAir is a longtime supporter of CAeS’ Project Fresson: an initiative, partially funded by the U.K. government, to develop hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems for the more than 700 Islanders in operation, supported by Britten-Norman.

This week’s MOU, however, steps up the firms’ collaboration with additional operational requirements and design, standards and regulations, infrastructure development, and stakeholder engagement.

A proposed merger between CAeS and Britten-Norman, announced last year, would form a new company dedicated almost entirely to installing CAeS fuel cells on Islanders. But the firms have since put a pause on the deal.

“Collaborating closely with Loganair, we aim to harness our combined experience and expertise to address the operational and infrastructure considerations, ultimately ensuring the successful deployment of the hydrogen-electric Britten-Norman Islander across Loganair’s lifeline routes within the islands,” said Paul Hutton, CEO of Cranfield Aerospace.

Separately, CAeS is continuing to develop hydrogen fuel cells for a range of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, including cargo aircraft. In October, its fuel cell system order pipeline topped 1,300 with a letter of intent from cargo drone operator Dronamics.

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The post Airbus, More European Aviation Firms Explore Hydrogen Future appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A company that just broke ground on automated flight technology has been cleared for takeoff by the U.S. military.

Reliable Robotics, which in November completed the first flight of a Cessna 208B Caravan with no one on board, received military airworthiness approval to begin flight testing and operational missions of remotely piloted aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. The company will demonstrate its dual-use automated flight capabilities for military use cases such as cargo missions.

Reliable’s remotely operated aircraft system (ROAS) completed an airworthiness assessment comprising a comprehensive safety analysis, maintenance and operational evaluations, and testing of its automated flight tech. 

The approval is the latest milestone in the company’s Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force. That collaboration began in 2021. Since then, Reliable has conducted a demonstration flight at California’s Travis Air Force Base and been contracted by AFWERX to study the possibility of automating large multiengine jets.

Now, the firm is one of only a few in the emerging aviation space with military airworthiness under its belt. Beta Technologies received the first such approval for an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design in 2021. Lift Aircraft, maker of the Hexa personal eVTOL, nabbed one the following year. Other manufacturers of novel tech, such as Archer Aviation, also maintain relationships with AFWERX and the Department of Defense.

“Our AFWERX partners are developing exciting automation technologies through robust engineering and flight test campaigns,” said Hank “Hog” Griffiths, AFWERX airworthiness and test lead. “The technology is maturing rapidly and this airworthiness approval for a certified aircraft retrofitted with an autonomous flight system provides significant opportunities for the military.”

ROAS allows pilots to safely operate aircraft from the ground, which could alleviate the sting of pilot shortages. Some even argue automated flight tech could one day be safer than crewed flight.

Reliable is developing the aircraft agnostic system to automate all phases of flight—from taxi to takeoff to landing—for any design. That includes cargo aircraft designed for payloads north of 3,000 pounds.

The company has an entrenched relationship with Textron Aviation and Textron eAviation—the manufacturer’s sustainable flight arm—to retrofit ROAS onto additional Caravans. Textron has delivered more than 3,000 of the aircraft, making it one of the most widely used turboprops in the world.

ROAS’ continuous autopilot system relies on advanced navigation and multiple redundant layers to reach a level of reliability equal to crewed flight, Reliable claims. It includes automatic braking and is positioned as being able to prevent both controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control in flight (LOC-I), according to the company.

Redundant hardware and software automate the flight control surfaces and engine controls. Similarly redundant voice and data networks, meanwhile, enable remote command and radio management for pilots.

“Nothing compares to showcasing how our autonomous flight capabilities will immediately enable new ways for the U.S. Air Force and other departments of the military to lead with innovation, improve safety, and project power across the globe,” said former Air Force Major General David O’Brien, senior vice president of government solutions at Reliable.

But Reliable is looking beyond defense use cases. ROAS—capable of automating aircraft with useful loads as high as 3,000 pounds or the ability to take off from shorter runways—could one day enable time-sensitive deliveries to locations currently served by piloted Caravans. In 2022, the company announced plans to launch a fully owned Part 135 airline subsidiary led by former Ameriflight executives.

In addition to its collaboration with the Air Force, Reliable has also demonstrated automated flight capabilities for NASA and the FAA, the latter of which formally accepted the firm’s certification plan in June. The company capped off 2023 with its historic cargo flight, keeping an uncrewed Caravan in the air for 12 minutes.

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The post Reliable Robotics Earns Military Airworthiness for Remotely Piloted Caravan appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Hello, and welcome to the Future of FLYING newsletter, our weekly look at the biggest stories in emerging aviation technology. From low-altitude drones to high-flying rockets at the edge of the atmosphere, we’ll take you on a tour of the modern flying world to help you make sense of it all.

Now for this week’s top story:

Clay Lacy Aviation to Bring Electric Air Taxis to FBOs

What happened? Clay Lacy, the famed aviator, is thought to have flown more hours on turbine aircraft than any pilot in history. But Clay Lacy Aviation, the company Lacy founded (and no longer has any association with the founder), is looking to fly electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and other futuristic designs out of its FBO network in Southern California in partnership with Overair.

Old dog, new tricks: Clay Lacy Aviation is one of the oldest private jet charters and fleet operators in the Western U.S., with two full-service FBOs in Southern California and a third in the works on the East Coast. But the experienced provider is embracing the new generation of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft, such as Overair’s Butterfly eVTOL air taxi.

The partnership will center around the development of vertiports at Clay Lacy Aviation’s John Wayne Airport (KSNA) and Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) locations, as well as a concept of operations for Butterfly and other AAM aircraft that could fly in the region. Overair has similar agreements with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) and the city of Arlington, Texas.

Air taxis for all: This week’s collaboration follows Clay Lacy Aviation’s agreement with Joby Aviation to install the latter’s global electric aviation charging system (GEACS) at John Wayne. Overair, however, has backed the combined charging system (CCS) standard widely used by electric ground vehicles and endorsed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).

Both GEACS and CCS are designed to be universally accessible to electric aircraft—each could charge Overair’s Butterfly, for example. But Joby has clashed with some of its air taxi rivals, with each side asserting their framework as the industry standard. Clay Lacy Aviation, though, plans to build electric infrastructure at its FBOs that will support both charging system proposals.

Quick quote: “Clay Lacy Aviation is committed to installing the electrical infrastructure to support all makes and models of electric aircraft, both fixed wing and eVTOL, to encourage the adoption of electric flight. In planning our new FBO development at John Wayne Airport, we are speaking with multiple OEMs and our local utility provider to ensure that the electric infrastructure we build out can support both CCS and GEACS charging protocols,” Scott Cutshall, senior vice president of strategy and sustainability at Clay Lacy Aviation, told FLYING.

My take: Joby and CCS-supporting competitors, such as Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies, each argue their proposed framework will be the sole industry standard. They may be right about there being one winner—major OEMs and operators will probably design and plan for one standard rather than both. It’s just easier that way.

But what if they’re wrong, and both standards can coexist? Clay Lacy Aviation and Overair appear to believe in a multipolar world, with both GEACS and CCS infrastructure fitting into the ecosystem. Atlantic Aviation, another FBO network, recently partnered with Joby, Archer, and Beta to install both kinds of chargers at its sites. These moves may be contingency plans should one system supplant the other. But either way, FBOs are building infrastructure to support both.

For what it’s worth, both CCS and the North American charging system (NACS) developed by Tesla have been viable options in the electric ground vehicle space. But CCS is slowly losing out as Ford, General Motors, and other large automakers switch over to NACS.

Deep dive: Clay Lacy Aviation, Overair Partner to Bring Air Taxis to Southern California

In Other News…

Historic Astronaut Crew Begins Research at Space Station

What happened? The multinational crew of Axiom Mission 3—or Ax-3, the third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station chartered by Houston-based Axiom Space—arrived at the orbital lab and began conducting more than 30 experiments. The crew will research microgravity, space botany, and even methods of preventing cancer.

Astronauts around the world: A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the crew of Ax-3—the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station—docked Saturday morning. The crew, comprising Spanish, Turkish, Swedish, and Italian nationals, joined space station occupants from the U.S., Europe, and East Asia.

The combined crews will work together for two weeks studying a wide array of low-Earth orbit (LEO) activities. Astronauts are exploring how microgravity, for example, affects neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and are even using it to try to prevent and predict cancer. Other studies focus on plant growth, remote planetary exploration, and the effects of zero gravity on astronaut stress.

Deep dive: First All-European Commercial Astronaut Crew Begins Research at Space Station

North American Manufacturers to Ship $1.3B Worth of Electric Aircraft to India

What happened? JetSetGo, an Indian fleet operator and marketplace for private jet and helicopter charters, ordered up to 280 electric aircraft in three separate deals with a combined value of $1.3 billion. Each aircraft—Overair’s Butterfly, Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7, and Electra.aero’s hybrid electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL)—offers different advantages.

Mix and match: JetSetGo said the combination of the three aircraft will create an “optimal mix” to serve five use cases: airport transfers, regional connectivity, intercity commute, intracity shuttles, and urban air taxis. The agreements lock it into 150 firm orders: 50 from each manufacturer for a combined $780 million. But each includes options for more aircraft.

Overair’s Butterfly introduces two technologies never before seen in eVTOL aircraft, designed to reduce energy demand and enable smoother flights. Horizon’s X7 employs a unique “fan-in-wing” configuration and blends features of a conventional aircraft with an eVTOL. And Electra’s design can take off and land with just 150 feet of runway.

Deep Dive: India’s JetSetGo Orders $1.3B Worth of Electric Aircraft from 3 Manufacturers

And a Few More Headlines:

• Vertical Aerospace founder Stephen Fitzpatrick committed $50 million to keep the air taxi manufacturer liquid through mid-2025.

• NASA and Archer partnered to test electric air taxi battery systems for potential use in spaceflight.

• Electra topped 2,000 preorders for its nine-seat hybrid eSTOL following its agreement with JetSetGo.

• Walmart partner DroneUp became the latest drone delivery firm to earn new flight permissions from the FAA.

• An attempted first lunar landing by a private company ended before reaching the moon as Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander returned to Earth.

On the Horizon…

Chinese-made drones could be transmitting sensitive U.S. information back to China, at least according to the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The agencies released a report emphasizing the Chinese government’s outsized control over domestic company data—and urging American firms to avoid buying drones from DJI and other Chinese manufacturers.

DJI, though not specifically named in the guidance, has already pushed back on the allegations and characterizations made by the U.S. government. The company, responsible for an estimated 7 in 10 consumer drone sales worldwide, has been the target of seemingly endless bans from U.S. lawmakers, who have decried its drones as “TikTok with wings.”

As the U.S. attempts to restrict drones, the U.K. is embracing air taxis. The country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched a consultation for vertiport design proposals, with the aim of installing the eVTOL hubs at existing airfields nationwide. As in the U.S., the strategy is to leverage existing infrastructure for early operations of air taxis and other AAM aircraft.

Finally, European Commission officials this week said they intend to release a draft of the first comprehensive European space law by March. The finer details of the legislation are largely a mystery, though the expectation is it will address safety and sustainability concerns and harmonize space regulations across European Union member states.

Mark Your Calendars

Each week, I’ll be running through a list of upcoming industry events. Here are a few conferences to keep an eye on:

• 11th Annual eVTOL Symposium—February 6-8 in Silicon Valley, California
• Drone Show Korea 2024—March 6-8 in Busan, South Korea
• World’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Conference—March 17-19 in Jerusalem
• AUVSI Xponential 2024—April 22-25 in San Diego 
• Vertical Flight Society’s Forum 80—May 7-9 in Montreal

Tweet of the Week

Want to see your tweet here next week? Have comments or feedback? Share your thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) and tag me (@jack_daleo)! Or check out FLYING’s media accounts:

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Instagram: FLYING Magazine (@flyingmagazine) • Instagram photos and videos

I want to hear your questions, comments, concerns, and criticisms about everything in the modern flying space, whether they’re about a new drone you just bought or the future of space exploration. Reach out to jack@flying.media or tweet me @jack_daleo with your thoughts.

The post FBOs, Meet AAM appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The technology expected to power the next generation of commercial aircraft could have some more cosmic applications, according to NASA.

The space agency on Monday announced a new collaboration with electric aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation to explore how the company’s battery cell systems—designed for its flagship Midnight air taxi—could one day be applied for space. 

A core focus of the collaboration, the partners said, is ensuring U.S. leadership in the next generation of air transportation. It follows air taxi simulations NASA conducted with Archer competitor Joby Aviation, and both come in the wake of the world’s first electric air taxi flight for a paying customer, completed by China’s EHang in December. EHang has also begun deliveries to its operational partners.

The industry leadership of Archer, Joby, and other American air taxi manufacturers is being challenged by Chinese firms, such as EHang and AutoFlight, as well as European rivals such as Volocopter. U.S. lawmakers and government agencies fear those companies could undermine American firms by beating them to commercial launch and scale.

“Many countries around the world are challenging the U.S. in this new era of flight, and our country is at risk of losing its global leadership position unless we work together, government and industry, to ensure we seize the moment and pioneer this new era of aviation technology, which stands to benefit all Americans,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer.

The initial NASA project will study and test Archer’s battery packs to see how they can safely support advanced air mobility (AAM) operations. The goal is to validate the technology for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis like Midnight, electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) designs such as Beta Technologies’ CX300, and potentially even usage in space.

According to Archer, the initial focus on battery cell safety is part of a “much larger partnership” with NASA under a Space Act Agreement for the advancement of “mission-critical” eVTOL aircraft technology.

The company believes the maturation of battery cell technology, in particular, will be key to U.S. mass production and adoption of eVTOL air taxis and other AAM services. Following testing, it plans to share the results with the industry to help it develop more efficient battery system supply chains.

“AAM promises to provide substantial public benefits to our communities, including transforming how urban and rural communities live and commute by maximizing mobility, bolstering cargo and logistics options, and creating pathways to manufacturing jobs and other ladders of social and economic opportunity,” Archer said in a news release. “Core to unlocking this potential is designing, developing, and mass producing batteries and electric motors that are purpose built for electric aircraft.”

Archer’s battery packs are designed specifically to power Midnight’s proprietary electric powertrain, which the company is beginning to mass manufacture. It said the cell’s cylindrical form factor “has a track record of safety, performance and scalability proven through decades of volume manufacturing, deployed across many applications globally, including in millions of electric vehicles.”

NASA will test the battery system’s safety, energy, and power performance capabilities using the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), one of the world’s most advanced high speed X-ray facilities. It will seek to understand how the cells function in “extreme abuse cases,” perhaps as a way to simulate the harsh environment of space.

NASA—which in addition to Archer and Joby is collaborating with the U.S. Air Force and other partners on an array of AAM initiatives—is one of many government agencies aiming to assert U.S. leadership in emerging aviation.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force, is working with Archer, Joby, and plenty of other manufacturers in a series of “quid-pro-quo” arrangements. The manufacturers receive access to Air Force resources and feedback that can speed aircraft development, testing, and commercialization, and the Air Force gets to explore defense use cases for technology not yet on the market. AFWERX is also collaborating with the FAA to share flight test data and capabilities.

The FAA has been tasked with spearheading the growth of the domestic AAM industry. So far, the agency has released an AAM Concept of Operations, which will serve as the early blueprint for regulations and operational rules to enable scale. The first stage of that blueprint is detailed further in the regulator’s Innovate28 plan—a timeline of goals and milestones culminating in initial AAM operations by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics arrive in Los Angeles.

However, the U.S. may be four years behind its global competition: Germany’s Volocopter, China’s AutoFlight, and several other non-U.S. manufacturers plan to demonstrate or commercially launch their air taxis at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Both Archer and Joby anticipate entry into service in 2025, pending type certification of their respective aircraft. But though they may arrive on the scene after their foreign counterparts, the opportunity to lead remains. Later entrants will be able to evaluate the successes (or failures) of the initial wave of aircraft. Through collaborations such as the one between Archer and NASA, they’ll have more time to research safe, scaled operations.

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Since the Wright brothers’ first flight more than a century ago introduced wing warping, almost every aircraft manufactured has included adjustable, external control surfaces: whether they be flaps, slats, spoilers, stabilizers, rudders, elevators, ailerons, or some combination of these. 

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), a U.S. Department of Defense unit tasked with developing cutting-edge defense technology, wants to do away with all of them.

DARPA this week selected Aurora Flight Sciences—a research subsidiary of Boeing specializing in the development of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other novel aircraft systems—to build a full-scale demonstrator aircraft that can fly with no surface-level control surfaces.

The project is part of a DARPA program called CRANE, or Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors. CRANE aims to design, build, and fly an airplane with active flow control (AFC)—in lieu of control surfaces—as a key design consideration. According to DARPA, AFC technology has been explored at the component level but not as a core piece of aircraft design.

Aurora has already begun building the outlandish demonstrator, called the X-65, DARPA said Wednesday. The agency expects it to roll out in early 2025, with the first flight planned for that summer.

No Control Surfaces, No Problem

The smooth-bodied X-65’s wings look almost like mirrored Dyson fans, with large gaps separating them from the body. In fact, the aircraft uses AFC to generate force in a similar way.

For primary flight control, flaps and rudders are replaced by AFC actuators. Much like a Dyson fan, AFC technology produces jets of pressured air, shaping flows over the airplane’s surface. Effectors spread across the surface use those flows to control pitch, roll, and yaw.

“[The X-65’s] distinctive, diamond-like wing shape is designed to help us maximize what we can learn about AFC in full-scale, real-world tests,” said Dr. Richard Wlezien, program manager for CRANE.

DARPA expects the elimination of external moving parts to reduce aircraft weight and complexity, thereby improving performance. In addition, the tech could enable drag reduction, high angle-of-attack flight, simplified high-lift systems, and thicker wings for better structural stability and fuel capacity, the agency said.

The X-65 will be built initially with two sets of control actuators—traditional flaps and rudders—as well as AFC effectors on all lifting surfaces. In addition to minimizing risk in early flight testing, the control surfaces will serve as a baseline for testing. As the campaign progresses, they will be selectively shut down and replaced by AFC for primary flight control.

“The X-65 conventional surfaces are like training wheels to help us understand how AFC can be used in place of traditional flaps and rudders,” explained Wlezien. “We’ll have sensors in place to monitor how the AFC effectors’ performance compares with traditional control mechanisms, and these data will help us better understand how AFC could revolutionize both military and commercial craft in the future.”

The uncrewed X-65 will have a 30-foot wingspan and is projected to weigh more than 7,000 pounds, capable of reaching Mach 0.7 speed (about 537 mph). Its size, speed, and weight will be similar to military trainer aircraft—which means DARPA could uncover immediate AFC applications for real-world designs.

X-Planes, CRANEs, and Aurora Deals

Construction of the X-65 demonstrator represents Phase 3 of CRANE, the U.S. government’s latest X-plane project.

X-planes are a series of experimental U.S. aircraft and rockets, used mainly to test out new technologies and aerodynamic concepts. The first batch was built by Bell Aircraft Corp. (known today as Bell Textron) in the 1940s and ’50s. Since then, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Curtiss-Wright, and other manufacturers have produced X-plane designs. The most recent, designated X-66, is a transonic truss-braced wing design being developed by Boeing with support from NASA.

With CRANE, DARPA hopes to optimize AFC systems by using the X-65 to mature the technology and design processes. In addition, former CRANE program manager Dr. Alexander Walan in 2020 suggested the agency may create an AFC technology database, which could be used by future manufacturers to design safe, market-ready aircraft.

CRANE began in 2019, when DARPA requested industry participation in the initiative. For Phase 1, which focused on initial design and system requirements, contracts were handed out to Aurora, Lockheed, BAE Systems, and Georgia Tech Research Corp.

But by the time Phase 2 began in January 2023, only Aurora—which had successfully completed wind tunnel testing using a testbed aircraft equipped with AFC—was still under contract. DARPA has now picked up its option for Phase 3, which will explore how AFC can be incorporated on full-scale aircraft and be relied upon for controlled flight.

It’s unclear whether CRANE will continue beyond Phase 3, which is expected to last several years. However, the X-65 is being designed to outlast it.

“We’re building the X-65 as a modular platform—wing sections and the AFC effectors can easily be swapped out— to allow it to live on as a test asset for DARPA and other agencies, long after CRANE concludes,” said Wlezien.

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Hello, and welcome to the Future of FLYING newsletter, our weekly look at the biggest stories in emerging aviation technology. From low-altitude drones to high-flying rockets at the edge of the atmosphere, we’ll take you on a tour of the modern flying world to help you make sense of it all.

Now for this week’s top story:

The U.S. Government Launched a Secret Robot Spaceplane

What happened? Well…we don’t quite know. Last week, the U.S. Space Force sent a mysterious spaceplane called X-37B on its seventh mission. The Boeing-built orbital test vehicle’s (OTV) purpose, payload, and final destination are all unknown. But this launch used a powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, fueling speculation it could be headed for deep orbit.

What we know: Boeing’s Phantom Works, notable for cutting-edge designs such as the A160 Hummingbird, has been developing X-37B for decades. The manufacturer says the reusable design—which resembles a school bus-sized NASA space shuttle—is built to fly in low Earth orbit (LEO) using technologies never before seen in spaceflight, such as automated de-orbiting.

Government agencies have been tight-lipped about the objectives of X-37B, which can evade detection using techniques, such as “hiding” in the sun’s glare. Speculation on its purpose has ranged from spying technology to a weapons delivery system. The government has denied the latter, saying only that it will conduct tests and prepare the U.S. for future space activity.

To infinity and beyond? X-37B won’t travel the galaxy, but some observers think it could reach the moon. That’s because the seventh launch was the spaceplane’s first aboard Falcon Heavy, one of the world’s most powerful launch vehicles. Its first five missions flew on United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets, and its sixth on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster.

Those journeys were constrained to below 1,200 miles in altitude. But Falcon Heavy can reach 22,000 miles, leading some to believe X-37B will at minimum head to deep orbit. Each of the spaceplane’s missions has been longer than its last, with the most recent jaunt spanning a record 908 days. If that’s any indication, the seventh mission could last years.

Quick quote: “The X-37B government and Boeing teams have worked together to produce a more responsive, flexible, and adaptive experimentation platform. The work they’ve done to streamline processes and adapt evolving technologies will help our nation learn a tremendous amount about operating in and returning from a space environment,” said William Bailey, director of the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.

My take: Exactly what the Space Force is up to is anyone’s guess. But it may be worth keeping an eye on, considering China is working on a similar project that also launched this month.

General B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the Space Force, has hinted X-37B’s seventh launch could be its last. China, however, is just ramping up its Shenlong “Divine Dragon” project, which in December set out on its third mission since 2020. There are no photos of the secretive spacecraft, but it’s thought to resemble the X-37B. A few weeks ago, it reportedly deployed six mysterious objects into orbit.

Some, including Saltzman, have implied the initiatives are similar because of the timing of the two launches. If not for delays, X-37B would have launched three days before Shenlong. Perhaps that planned date was not a coincidence.

Deep dive: U.S. Space Force’s Secret Robot Spaceplane Could be Headed to Deep Orbit

In Other News…

Rocket Lab Signs $515 Million Satellite Contract with Mystery Government Agency

What happened? Thought one mystery was enough? How about another? Rocket Lab, which trailed only SpaceX in launches this past year, will design, manufacture, deliver, and operate 18 “space vehicles” for an unnamed U.S. government agency, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The deal—which could extend as far as 2033—calls for deliveries and operations to begin in 2027.

Case cracked? Several reports speculate that Rocket Lab’s mystery customer is the Space Development Agency (SDA), a unit within the Space Force. In particular, comments from SDA director Derek Tournear regarding the agency’s need for 18 additional satellites have been linked to Rocket Lab’s contract, which calls for that same figure.

Tournear’s words are by no means conclusive evidence, but Rocket Lab and SDA have collaborated on satellite systems in the past. Subtly, the company’s Space Systems unit—which produces satellite components, such as radios and solar panels—has actually outperformed its launch business in recent months, adding to the appeal of a potential SDA partnership.

Deep dive: Rocket Lab Signs $515M Satellite Contract With Mystery Government Agency

Alphabet Drone Delivery Arm Wing Adds Second Texas Walmart Location

What happened? Wing, the largest consumer drone delivery provider in the world by deliveries made, expanded its presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by adding a Walmart Supercenter in the suburb of Lewisville to its network. It’s the second Walmart store the company has modified for services in the region, following an inaugural site in Frisco that launched in September.

Everything’s bigger in Texas: If the old adage holds true, that includes Wing’s delivery network. By now, a handful of DFW residents are familiar with the service, whether they’ve used it themselves or watched the buzzing aircraft fly overhead. But with the addition of a second Walmart site, the company says it can now serve 60,000 people.

To see Wing’s service in action for yourself, check out our on-site coverage earlier this year. But for those in a time crunch, the gist is that the drones load orders, fly as far as 6 miles, and deliver within 30 minutes—entirely on their own. Flights are monitored remotely from hundreds of miles away, and on-site staff essentially have one job: place payloads beneath the drones.

Deep Dive: Walmart-Google Linkup Adds Drone Delivery to 60,000 Households

And a Few More Headlines:

• Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Horizon Aircraft expects to go public in the coming weeks.

• Another eVTOL manufacturer, Hyundai’s Supernal, plans to unveil its latest design at CES 2024 next week.

• Russian forces launched a “record” number of drones at Ukraine in the early hours of the new year.

• The U.S. Navy is soliciting proposals for systems to counter “cross-domain” drone attacks.

• FBO operator Jet Aviation partnered with World Fuel Services to sell SAF out of two more sites.

On the Horizon…

In lieu of the typical weekly roundup of modern flying developments, let’s ring in the new year with a few predictions for 2024.

American-made drones will have a banner year. On the defense side of things, U.S. manufacturers should benefit from the recently approved spending bill, which includes language that would ban the purchase or use of drones made in China—and other nations considered hostile to U.S. interests—at the federal level. Considering Chinese DJI drones are near-ubiquitous in government agencies, American companies could get a lift.

U.S. drone delivery firms are also poised for a big year as the FAA introduces beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) summary grants. Wing and Amazon Prime Air have already won the approvals, which are streamlined authorizations based on four waivers the regulator awarded last year. The looming enforcement of remote ID rules and BVLOS provisions contained in the pending FAA reauthorization bill will only add fuel to the industry’s fire.

The FAA reauthorization bill also places emphasis on U.S. leadership of advanced air mobility (AAM) services, such as air taxi routes to and from airports. The first batch of personal eVTOL designs could arrive next year, with companies such as Jetson and Pivotal planning to open sales. Outside the U.S., eVTOL air taxis from Volocopter and EHang are expected to begin flying paying customers.

SMG Consulting, which releases a monthly ranking of AAM manufacturers in its AAM Reality Index, also has a few predictions for the industry. Among other forecasts, the firm expects Joby to begin for-credit flight testing, the FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to finalize eVTOL regulations, and the first certified vertiport to open for cargo operations. It also predicts a top 10 AAM manufacturer will be snapped up by a legacy aerospace firm.

Mark Your Calendars

Each week, I’ll be running through a list of upcoming industry events. The FAA Drone Symposium and Advanced Air Mobility Summit wrapped up Thursday in Baltimore, but here are a few conferences to keep an eye on:

• CES 2024—January 9-12 in Las Vegas
• 11th Annual eVTOL Symposium—February 6-8 in Silicon Valley, California
• Drone Show Korea 2024—March 6-8 in Busan, South Korea
• World’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Conference—March 17-19 in Jerusalem
• AUVSI Xponential 2024—April 22-25 in San Diego 
• Vertical Flight Society’s Forum 80—May 7-9 in Montreal

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